Forgotten!
by DarkDaughter1318
Summary: Rose gets hurt during a strigoi attack, and hits her head...hard. When she finally wakes up, she remembers everything...except the love of her life, Dimitri Belikov. With her memory of him gone, he has no choice but to make her fall in love all over again
1. Everything I Knew!

"Lissa, go." I screamed, trying to fend off the strigoi. He was stronger than I was but not faster. I was using my speed to my advantage, but there was only so much I could do. I'd taken down at least five other strigoi, and my body was finally starting to feel its affects. I threw a punch, connecting with his jaw. He snarled and stumbled back, before lunging at me. He threw a punch, but I ducted under it. Then, with a speed I wasn't ready for he pushed me, causing me to slam my head hard against the wall. I heard my name called from far away, but I didn't have time to answer. My eyes slowly drooped, and before I knew it, the blackness swallowed me. I tried to fight against it, to resurface but I couldn't. I wasn't strong enough. I wasn't sure how long I was out, before my unconscious cave of black turned into a beach. I then saw Adrian walking towards me. He looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"Little dhampir." He said.

"Adrian… are you okay? The attack… is everything okay? Was anyone hurt?" I asked.

"You were hurt, Rose." He said.

"What?"

"You've been out for three days now." He murmured. I met his eyes to see them fill up with tears. He blinked hard, fighting them back.

"Three days?" I whispered. He nodded.

"We've all been waiting on you to wake up… but you still haven't."

"I…. I only thought I'd been out for a couple hours." I said, running my hands through my hair. He shook his head.

"No, it's been three days, and we're starting to worry." I walked closer to him, and took his face in my hands, tracing the blue bruises under his eyes.

"You haven't slept." I murmured. "How long?"

"Three days. I finally took some medicine to put me out. I was dead on my feet."

"You've been staying with me, waiting on me to wake up, haven't you?" I asked. He nodded.

"Adrian…" I groaned, running my hands through his hair.

"I'm sorry. I just couldn't leave you."

"I'll be fine." I murmured.

"Then why haven't you woken up yet." He asked. I looked down.

"I don't know."

"Exactly, Rose what if something's really wrong with you?"

"Then we'll deal with it. I know you and Lissa will help me through it." I said.

"And Dimitri." He said.

"Who?" I asked. The name didn't sound familiar at all. I didn't remember knowing any Dimitri.

"What do you mean who?" He asked. Before I knew what happened, he disappeared, and I was thrown back into my dark cave. Alright, come on Rose. You've got to wake up. It's been three days. Three days the world has been without your gorgeous face, charm, and whit. You've got to wake up. I fought against the darkness pushing against it. The more I fought, the more I felt myself wake. I could feel and hear things around me. I felt someone's fingers intertwined with mine. Their hands were rough and warm. I wasn't exactly sure who it was yet. I wasn't able to open my eyes. I fought against the darkness even more, and before I knew it, my eyes fluttered, and opened. I was staring up into a bright light.

"Roza?" A velvet voice said. I turned to find a huge man, about twenty three or twenty four, holding my hand. He was good-looking no doubt, but I had no idea who he was. I screamed, and threw a punch, catching him right to the face. I jumped out of the bed, and crouched down, ready for anything.

"Rose, what the hell's the matter with you?" He demanded, rubbing his face.

"Who the hell are you? Why were you holding my hand?"

"What do you mean who-." Adrian then came through the door, looking even worse in real life than he did in my dream. Adrian looked at me, and at Dimitri.

"Rose, are you okay?"

"I wouldn't say I'm okay. I woke up to some guy I've never met in my life, holding my hand." I said.

"Are you trying to be funny?" The man asked me. He had a hint of a Russian accent, lacing his voice.

"Stop talking to me. I don't know who the hell you are." I growled.

"Rose, that's Dimitri." Adrian said.

"Who's that? I've never met anybody by that name in my life." I said. The man, Dimitri I guess shook his head.

"No… No, this isn't happening. She's lost her memory."

"No… I don't think that's it. She just lost her memory of you." Adrian told him.

"I haven't lost anything… I've never met him."

"Roza, I was the one that brought you and Lissa back when you ran away from court. I was the one Victor put under a lust spell with you. You don't remember any of that?" Dimitri asked.

"First of all, who the hell is Roza? My name is Rose. Second of all, I… I don't remember who brought me and Lissa back, and… Third of all, what the hell is a lust spell?" I asked.

"Rose, you honestly don't remember him?"

"No, Adrian… I'm lying to you. I remember everything. NO. I don't know this man. I've never seen him in my life. EVER!" I screamed. They weren't listening, and it was annoying me. My head was also starting to pound, so it wasn't making my mood better.

"You've lost a part of your memory, Rose."

"No… I haven't." I snapped. Adrian walked over to me, and took my face in his hands.

"You have. You and Dimitri used to be like this." He said, crossing his fingers. "He was your mentor back at the academy when you came back. You two were inseparable. You were in love." He said. I busted out laughing.

"You're kidding, right?" I asked. I watched as pain filled Dimitri's features. Adrian frowned.

"You hit your head hard." Adrian said. He turned to Dimitri. "Maybe it'll come back. You never know. It could just be temporary. I've heard stories about people who forget things for years, and all of the sudden wake up and remember."

"I don't understand why it's only me she forgot. She know's Lissa, you, and probably Christian too. Why me?" He murmured, looking at Adrian. I rolled my eyes, and groaned.

"I really wish you two would stop talking about me, like I'm not here, and yes… I know who fire boy is." I said. A nurse walked in, and looked around the room at all of us.

"You're awake, good. I was hoping you'd wake up soon. How are you feeling?"

"She's lost her memory." Adrian told her.

"No. I didn't."

"Then, why don't you remember him?" He asked.

"Because I've never met him." I snapped.

"He was the man who brought you in." The nurse said. I looked up at him.

"You were?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yes, Roza. I brought you in. I watched the strigoi hit you. I tried to get to you sooner, but I couldn't."

"My name is Rose." I snapped at him. I looked down and back up. "And thank you, for bringing me here." He nodded.

"I wasn't going to leave you there to die, Roz-. Rose." He said, correcting himself. I searched my memory, trying to recall ever meeting this man, and I just couldn't remember it. I'd never met him. I stared at him, trying to remember, but I was drawing up blank. I finally gave up.

"Look, can I just go home, please?" I asked, looking at the nurse.

"Do you think you'll be okay on your own?" She asked. I nodded.

"I'll live." I told her. I looked at Adrian. "Will you walk me to my room?" I asked.

"I actually promised I'd go get Lissa when you woke up. Can Dimitri walk you? I think you two need to talk anyway." He said. I looked at Dimitri, and took a deep breath.

"I guess…" I said. Dimitri shook his head.

"If you don't want me to… I can go get Liss, and Adrian can go." I nodded.

"I'd prefer that, thanks." I said. He nodded.

"I'll go get her." He said, walking out. Adrian looked at me, and frowned.

"Come on." He said, wrapping an arm around my waist.

"I can walk fine."

"I know." He said, smirking at me. I rolled my eyes.

"I really didn't lose my memory, Adrian. You guys are messing with me, right? I've never met him before."

"Rose, look at me." He said, stopping. "Would I lie to you?"

"No. You wouldn't."

"Then you have to believe me when I tell you, you know him. He was your mentor. He brought you and Lissa back when you ran away. You fell in love with him. You guys were scared someone was going to find you out and that you were going to get in trouble." He told me.

"I… There's no way…. I can't-." I stopped, giving up. I didn't know whether I actually knew the guy or not… but I was in no condition to try and remember everything now. We continued walking, and went into my room. It wasn't long before Lissa, Christian, and Dimitri walked through my door. Lissa came over to me and wrapped her arms around me.

"God, I'm so glad your okay." She said. I nodded.

"Yeah, I've got a killer headache, but I'll live."

"I was so scared. You were out for so long; we didn't think you were going to wake up." She cried.

"I'm not going out that easily." I told her. She smiled and nodded. She then looked at Dimitri, and back at me.

"Is it true? Do you really not remember him at all?"

"For the love of God, no… I don't remember him. I wish people would stop asking me." I said. I watched him flinch a little behind Lissa. I automatically regretted my words.

"How? I mean… You were in love with him. I don't under-." I sighed.

"Look, I'm really tired, and I want to lie down and rest. You think this conversation can take place at another time?" I asked. She nodded.

"Sure, of course. I'll come back later." She said. I sighed and nodded once. She took Christian's hand, and they left. Adrian kissed my forehead, and walked out, leaving Dimitri and I.

"Are you going to be okay?" He asked. I met his dark brown eyes, and seemed to get lost in them.

"I should be. If not, Lissa will probably know, with the bond and all." I said. I felt really self-conscious with him around. I didn't know what he knew about me, or who he even was, so talking with him was awkward. He nodded.

"Okay. If you need me, I'm in room two oh nine." He turned and started towards my door.

"Dimitri?" He turned back to me.

"Yes?"

"I honestly don't know if I knew you or not. I can't remember anything about you, or even meeting you. I don't know if what everyone is telling me is true, and I don't even know how to begin to believe it all, but…. I'm sorry." I said. He walked over to me, and kissed my forehead.

"We'll sort it all out, Roza." He said, before turning his back and walking out.

"Roza." I muttered. I lay down on my couch and sighed. It could be worse right? I could have forgotten Lissa or Adrian. Although, if what they said was true… If Dimitri and I were in love… what was I going to do? If everything I once knew, and felt was gone… How was I going to get it back when I remembered absolutely nothing?


	2. Giving Up!

**A/N: Alright, just so there isn't anymore confusion, this story is set after Rose, Liss, and Christian graduate. The attack happened, but no one was taken, and Dimitri was never turned. They all live at the Royal Court together. Any more questions, message me. I'll answer em'. For now, on with the show. Here's chapter 2 of Forgotten.**

**DIMITRI'S POV**

I was still having a hard time wrapping my head around it. She'd forgotten. She'd forgotten everything. Everything we'd shared, all of the good times, the bad times, the fights, the stolen kisses back at St. Vladimirs, all the nights spent together here at court, all of it, all of it was gone. I didn't understand why it was only me she'd forgotten. It made my heartache to think she'd lost so much, all of our memories, all of the amazing times we had. I shook my head. I could go back to my dorm, but I'd just sit there and wallow in sorrow, and I didn't want to do that. I walked outside, and onto the back deck, into the cool night air. I pulled up a chair, and sat down against the railing staring out at the mountains. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do now, where I was supposed to go from here. The girl I loved more than anything in the world now had no recollection of me at all. I shook my head, and took a deep breath. Where I was supposed to go now was beyond me, but I knew I couldn't give up on her. I couldn't just walk away because she didn't remember. I wasn't sure how long I stood there, before I heard the door open, and turned to see Rose walk out. She smiled timidly at me.

"Feeling better?" I asked.

"A little. My head stopped pounding, so that's a plus."

"I'm glad you're starting to feel better." I told her. What I really wanted was for her to get her memory back.

"So, you were the one that came after Lissa and I when we escaped, huh?" She asked me. I nodded.

"Yes, I was. You attacked me too, trying to protect her."

"I attacked you? Did you hurt me?" She asked. I smiled.

"No… I didn't hurt you. I could have… but I didn't."

"I can definitely see that." She said, chuckling.

"Actually, when we used to have our training sessions, you had no problem taking me down."

"I… I took you down?" She asked. Her facial expression was definitely priceless.

"You did. You're tough for a little thing." I told her. She grinned.

"I wish I remembered all of this. You could lie, and tell me all kinds of stuff and I honestly wouldn't know if it really happened or not. That seems like something Christian would do more than you or Adrian though." She said.

"I wouldn't do that to you." I assured her.

"Okay… Good. I might have to kick your ass if you did."

"I believe it." I said, chuckling.

"What else happened between us?"

"There's a lot." I told her.

"Some of it bad?"

"A lot of it is sort of bad, actually." She nodded.

"Awesome." She muttered sarcastically.

"Yeah… we made it through all of it."

"And I can't even survive a bump on the head to remember." She said.

"You hit your head hard. It's not your fault."

"How old are you?" She asked me.

"Twenty four." Her eyes went wide.

"Woah… I've been with a twenty-four year old?"

"Yeah. You didn't have a problem with it. I was the one that wasn't exactly sure about it, for awhile." I admitted, looking down at my hands.

"I don't know if I'm going to be able to do this." She whispered.

"Do what?"

"This." She said, motioning between us. "How am I supposed to live my life not knowing anything about what happened between us?"

"We can figure this out. We'll get through this, just like we've gotten through everything else, Roza. Don't give up yet." I said.

"We've gotten through everything else because I could remember things. I knew everything about us, about you. You're a complete stranger and it's like our past never happened. How are we supposed to 'get through that'?" She asked. I could tell she was having a hard time holding it together. I reached out to her.

"Roza, we'll-." She shook her head, and stepped away from me.

"No… What did I tell you? My name is Rose, and don't… don't touch me." She said. I didn't know what to do, or how to react.

"Rose, we can't—."

"Your right… we can't do this. I just…" I watched as a single tear ran down her face. I wanted to wipe it away so bad. "I'm sorry, Dimitri… I'm sure whatever we had… I'm sure it was great, but I can't deal with this. I can't deal with not knowing. I'm sorry." She said. She met my eyes for a second, before walking around me, and back inside. I stood there, staring at the door as I watched her walk away. What was I supposed to do now? Any other time I could use all the thing we'd gotten through as an example of the fact we could get through anything, but now… I couldn't even do that much, because she wouldn't remember anything. I stood there for the longest time, before I went inside and back to my room. Now, it was time for wallowing.

**ROSE'S POV**

I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do, how I was supposed to deal with the fact that an entire part of my life was taken from me. Dimitri and I may have been through a lot, but nothing of that magnitude, I was positive. I went to my room, and sat down at my counter, with my head in my hands. There was a knock on my door, and when I looked up, Adrian was standing there.

"Hey." He said. "Is this a bad time?"

"No… I just-." I stopped. "Your okay, come in." He nodded, and came in, shutting the door behind him.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm…. I'm alright." I said, not wanting to lie and say that I was okay. I wasn't exactly okay.

"I saw Dimitri before I came here."

"Of course." I muttered, running my hands through my hair.

"You talked to him?"

"I did."

"And how'd that go?" He asked.

"I can't do this, Adrian. I can't… I can't pretend that Dimitri and I are like we were before when I don't remember how we were before. I can't remember anything. I don't know anything about our past; I don't know anything about him. He's a stranger to me, and… I don't know how to move forward from that. If we have this amazing past and so much has happened, why try to move forward, when I honestly can't remember any of it?" I asked.

"You'll have to start from scratch again."

"Adrian, how long have Dimitri and I known each other?"

"About a year or so now."

"I can't make up for the year or so I don't know about. He could tell me about everything that happened between us, but that won't be anything compared to being there, to being able to remember actually being there." I said. He turned to me.

"Rose, you've got through things tougher than this." He said. I groaned.

"That may be true, but I could actually remember what happened then. I could actually remember our past then. I knew who he was then. It's easier to work through things when those things come into play."

"You're giving up because you're scared." He said.

"I'm not scared of anything. I just…. I don't know." I whispered. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"He's kinda hurt. He didn't expect you to give up so soon. You've got to at least try and work with him. Give him a shot. You'll fall in love all over again, I'm sure." He said. I could tell Adrian was having a hard time encouraging me to go after another guy when he wanted me.

"I didn't want to hurt him. It's weird. He knows me, knows a lot about me, and I just… I know nothing. It's like he's a blank spot in my memory." I told him.

"You can fix that. Maybe if… you try and start from scratch with him… you memory will come back." He said.

"There's no guarantee of that."

"Should it matter? At least you can say you tried. If you let him go, let him walk away without trying to patch this together, you could be letting the best thing that ever happened to you walk out of your life, Rose." He told me. He was getting aggravated with me, and I could see it. I sighed.

"I…. I just…-." I gave up trying to form a sentence.

"Don't let him walk away. If your memory comes back, and he's gone… You're going to fall apart, and I know it. I don't want to see that happen to you." He said. I sighed, and nodded.

"Alright… I'll try and work with him. I just-." I sighed. "This sucks."

"You'll get through it."

"I wish people would stop saying that." I muttered. He kissed my forehead.

"Get some rest." He said. He got up, and walked out. I sighed.

"God, they're all going to drive me to drink." I muttered, as I grabbed a soda out of my fridge. I sat there for awhile alone, thinking of what I had to do, how I had to try and fix this, try and remember, or just start all over again. I had to figure it out. I was a Hathaway, damn it. I didn't let stuff like this beat me. I wouldn't. After sitting there, building myself up for an hour, I decided I needed to apologize for the way I acted earlier, so I started out towards room two oh nine.


	3. Blank!

When I reached the door, I hesitated. I wasn't really sure I wanted to do this anymore. I knocked once, and waited. When he opened the door, he looked shocked.

"Rose?" I smiled timidly.

"Hey… Can we talk?"

"Sure, come in." He said, moving aside, and letting me into his room. I walked in, and looked around, trying to find something to cling to, something I could remember about him, about this place, about anything having to do with him, but there was nothing.

"Have I been in here before?" I asked.

"Numerous times. You've slept here a lot too."

"I've… I've slept here?" I whispered, my voice barely audible. I walked around the room, running my fingers over things, hoping something, anything would come back to me, but I continued to draw up blank.

"You said you wanted to talk. What's going on?" He asked. I turned to him.

"I'm… I'm sorry about earlier. I said some things I probably shouldn't have, and I was rude to you. What's happened to me isn't your fault, and you're trying to help me. I get that."

"I understand. You're going through a lot." He said. I wanted to roll my eyes. _Tell me about it. _

"I want to… I want to try and work through this." I murmured.

"You mean it?" He asked. I nodded.

"I want to try."

"Okay." He murmured. I sat down on his bed and turned to him.

"So… start from the beginning, why did you get assigned to be my mentor?"

"Because back at school, Kirova decided that since you'd been gone so long, you'd need extra help. I saw the potential in you that Kirova was ready to throw away. I stepped in on your behalf." He told me. I thought hard, hoping to have some recollection of it, but there was nothing.

"She was going to kick me out." I stated. He nodded.

"We trained every morning before school, and right after."

"Before school? Jesus Christ, I bet I hated that. I'm not a morning person." I told him. He chuckled, and nodded.

"Believe me. I know."

"It's weird, knowing that you know all of this stuff about me, but I know nothing about you." I told him. He smiled.

"My name is Dimitri Belikov. I'm Russian. I'm twenty-four years old. My Birthday is August nineteenth. I lived in a dhampir commune until I graduated and came to America to work at the Academy. I was the top fighter of my graduating class; I've got six molnija marks." He said, turning around and lifting his long, dark hair to revel the back of his neck. "In Russia, I lived with my three sisters, Viktoria, Sonya, and Karolina, along with my grandmother, Yeva, my Mother, Olena, and my nephew Paul. I love to read old western novels." He took a deep breath. "And the love of my life is you, Rosemarie Hathaway." I met his eyes, not sure really what to say.

"I wish… I wish I could say the same. I wish I knew if you were the love of my life."

"You used to tell me all the time that I was. That I was your soul mate. I honestly think we are." He murmured. I nodded. "I know this is all going to be a lot to take in, and I don't think we should do this all at once, maybe in just short bursts."

"I think your right. It might not overload my brain so much." I said, lying back on his bed. I sighed. "Why can't it ever be easy? I don't understand."

"We'll get through it." I sat up to look at him.

"How did we keep 'us' a secret at the academy?" I asked. He smiled.

"It wasn't easy. You don't realize how hard you are to resist. Our self-control was definitely pushed to the limit. We were careful not to look at each other for too long and not to touch each other. I was against any kind of relationship with you for awhile, but… it didn't take me long to see, I couldn't stay away from you. I couldn't pretend not to love you." He said. I could see so much love conveyed in his eyes as he spoke about me, about us. I could tell this was hurting him, killing him that I couldn't remember anything about him.

"I'm sorry." I whispered, looking down at my hands. He walked over to me, and sat down next to me.

"For what?"

"I'm sorry I can't remember you, remember us, remember any of it. I know this hurts you, the fact that I can't even remember who you are." I whispered. He shook his head, and reached up, taking my face in his hands. A part of me wanted to flinch away, but I didn't. He lowered his head, bringing our faces only inches apart.

"This isn't your fault. You can't help that this happened to you. You didn't ask for this." I felt sort of uncomfortable with him this close. He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. I was glad he wasn't pushing me into anything. If he loved me like he said he did, he wouldn't. I could look into his eyes and tell he wouldn't. He cared for me that much. I wish I could say the same. I wish I knew.

"I should probably be going." I said, standing up.

"Look, I was wondering… if maybe you'd like to go out and have dinner with me tomorrow night." He said. I met his gaze for a second, to see hope shimmering through his dark eyes. I couldn't turn him down. I smiled.

"I'd like that. I'd like that a lot, actually." I said. He nodded.

"I'll pick you up at your room at around eight tomorrow?"

"Okay." I said.

"Goodnight Ro-." He cut himself off, before he said 'Roza'. "Rose." He finished. I smiled.

"Goodnight Dimitri." I said, walking out of his door, and back towards my room. When I got inside, I walked into my room, and plopped down on my bed. This was going to be an interesting ride.

**DIMITRI'S POV**

I watched as she walked out of my room. I'd honestly been scared that she would say no. I smiled as I lay back on my bed. She may not remember all of the things that happened between us, and she may not remember being in love with me… but that doesn't mean I can't try and make her fall in love with me all over again. Maybe, just maybe I can win her over again, the same way I did before. It wasn't going to be easy and I knew that. I knew it from the beginning, but I knew that it'd be worth it. It'd be worth it to be able to hold her in my arms again, to kiss her, and touch her again. I felt lost without all those things, I felt lost without her. She was right. It was like I was a complete stranger to her. I knew I couldn't take her reluctance, and hesitance towards me to heart. It was like she was meeting me for the first time all over again, except this time, she was less violent. I got up, and showered, and got ready for bed. When I laid down, sleep wouldn't find me. My mind was racing, like it had been. I'd come to term with the fact she'd forgotten me, but I didn't understand why… or how it was only me she'd forgotten. It didn't make sense. I hoped to figure it out soon, and maybe help get her memory back. I closed my eyes, and slowly a much needed sleep swallowed me.

**ROSE'S POV**

I woke up the next morning, and stretched. I got up and went into my kitchen, grabbing a bowl of cereal. I sat down at my counter, and started shoveling cereal into my face when there was knock at my door.

"Come in." I yelled. The door opened, and Lissa walked in, closing the door behind her._ Of course. _I knew I couldn't avoid this conversation forever. She smiled.

"Hey."

"Hi." I said, around a mouth full of cereal.

"How are you doing?" She asked.

"I'm good. My head doesn't hurt anymore." I told her.

"I'm glad. I don't like knowing you're in pain." She said.

"Well, I'm fine now."

"Good. Have you talked to...Dimitri since yesterday?"

"Yeah, I talked to him a few times yesterday." I said, keeping my eyes on my cereal.

"How'd that go?" She asked.

"It went." I assured her.

"What happened?"

"At first, it didn't go so well. I pretty much gave up on the whole constitution of fixing it, of trying to work it out… but then Adrian came by, and gave me one of his pep talks, and I ended up going to Dimitri's room, and talking to him there. We talked for a little bit, and he asked if he could take me out to dinner, so I'm going out soon." I told her. She smiled.

"I'm glad ya'll are starting to work things through."

"Yeah, I guess." I said.

"Are you excited about tonight?" She asked. I shrugged.

"I guess. It's like going on a blind date, I suppose."

"Except you've known the guy over a year, and just don't remember." She said. I sighed.

"Yeah, that." I said.

"Can I help you get ready?" She asked.

"If you want." I muttered. I really wanted to be alone, but I wasn't going to boot Lissa out. She took me into my room, and went through my closet, picking out my best pair of jeans, and a red button up blouse with a white undershirt. I put it on, and then went into the bathroom, allowing her to do my hair. She curled it which took a lot longer than what I was planning on doing. As I stared into the mirror, looking into my eyes, I noticed they looked empty, like there was something missing. I wasn't sure quite what it was. I noticed that I felt empty too, like a huge chunk of me was missing, and in a sense, it sort of was. There was an entire part of my life, I had no recollection of. I sighed.

"You alright?" Liss asked, as she curled the last strand of my hair.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I told her, as I started on my make-up. Once I was done, I walked out, and looked into my huge guilt-framed mirror. I looked hott, there was no denying. My curls framed my face, bringing out my dark eyes. Regardless of how pretty I looked, the lost and empty look in my eyes didn't go away. I sighed. I looked at the clock to see it was seven thirty. Lissa hugged me, and grinned.

"Have fun, and I want to hear all about it tomorrow."

"You make it seem like he's my new boyfriend or something. If we've known each other for so long, this should be normal… shouldn't it?" I asked. She just grinned.

"Regardless, I want to hear about it." She said, before disappearing. I sat down in one of the chairs at the counter, and waited for him to show up. Was it normal that I was nervous to go out with the man I was supposed to be in love with?


	4. Second first date!

The moment I heard the knock on my door, my heart started racing. Gosh, I felt like I was sixteen again. I opened the door, and smiled at him. He was dressed in jeans and a dark t-shirt, and had his hair pulled back into a neat pony tail at the nape of his neck. He smiled.

"Hello Rose."

"Hey." I said, looking away from his eyes.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Sure." I said, walking out and shutting my door behind me. As we got outside, and too the vans, he walked around and opened the passenger's side door for me.

"You look beautiful tonight." He said. I smiled.

"Thanks." I said, getting in and allowing him to close the door behind me. He walked around and got in, heading off. "So, where are we going?"

"It's a surprise." He said. I sighed.

"I hate surprises… Although I'm sure you already know that." I said, a bitter edge to my voice. He smiled, and nodded.

"I do." He assured me.

"Of course."

"So… anything you want to know about us, since we're on the subject of things I know and you don't?" He asked. He was trying to keep the situation light, and I could see that. I played along.

"How long did we know each other before we started falling in love?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Your timing might be different than mine. I knew you were something special, different the moment I found you and Lissa. As we trained, and I got to know you more and more, I guess is when it started happening. I can't exactly speak for you, although… you really can't say either, huh?" I sighed.

"Nope." I said, popping the 'p'. He smiled.

"Anything else?"

"Did anyone… like adult-wise every find out about us at school?" I asked him. He nodded.

"Alberta knew."

"And she didn't turn you… us in?" I asked. He shook his head.

"No. She didn't. She trusted that me and you were a good team. She watched us grow as a duo, and as friends, and knew me and you were perfect for each other. She gave me her blessing before we left."

"Woah." I said. He smiled.

"She trusted me. She trusted that I'd take care of you and keep you in check, which I have. It's not easy keeping a Hathaway under control." He said, poking me. I smiled.

"Hathaway's aren't meant to be controlled."

"Tell me about it." He muttered. I smiled. When he pulled into a parking lot, I looked to notice the restaurant we were at. I smiled. It was a small Italian restaurant just outside of town. It was quaint and had a homey feel to it. It was definitely my favorite place to eat.

"This is my—." He cut me off.

"Favorite restaurant." He finished. I rolled my eyes.

"Of course." I muttered. We went in, and sat down. The waitress took our drink order and disappeared.

"So, how have you been doing? Your head been hurting anymore?" He asked. I shook my head.

"No. My heads just fine, thanks." I said, smirking.

"You're heads never been fine, Rose. You've always had something wrong with you." He said.

"Ouch." I said. He winked at me. It was fun being with him when he was in a light mood like this. It made this feel normal, easy. I wondered if this was how it was before I forgot everything.

"I'm glad you decided to come with me tonight." He said.

"I'm glad I came."

"I was worried you were going to turn me down."

"I would have been worried too if I were you." I said, smirking. He rolled his dark eyes at me. The waitress brought back our drinks and took our orders. I couldn't help notice she was a little bit too friendly with him.

"So… anything else you would like to know about your past?"

"That's not a question most people hear." I said. He shrugged.

"We've always known you were different." He said. I growled a little at him. He smiled.

"It's still so weird, not knowing."

"I would imagine so." He said. "An entire part of your life's been taken."

"And I hate it."

"Me too." He murmured so low I could barely hear him. I ignored the comment. It wasn't long before the waitress brought back our food; he looked over at me, and smiled.

"What?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Nothing." He murmured. I rolled my eyes, but nodded.

"Why was it you decided to step in for me, when Kirova was ready to throw me out?" I asked.

"From the moment I met you, out on the street when we caught you and Lissa, I saw this flame, this spark in you that I'd never seen in another novice. I saw the potential in you that Kirova was so ready to throw away. I wasn't going to let that happen. I knew you had the potential to be amazing, and you've done nothing but prove me right so far." He said. I smiled. The way he talked about me was so endearing, it made my heart swell. I hated that I had nothing like that to say to him.

"What made you fall in love with me?" I asked. He looked up from his plate of food, and met my eyes. I smiled timidly.

"Everything about you. You're amazing in every which way I can think of. You're perfect." I felt my cheeks get hot, and suddenly, I was very interested in the food on my plate. He reached across the table, and touched my cheek gently with his hand. "You're what I've been looking for my entire life, Rose."

"You found me." I said, smirking.

"I did. I found you in the last place I thought I would."

"The academy?" I asked. He nodded. After we finished eating, he paid and we headed back to the van. The drive back was pretty silent. When we got back to court, he walked me back to my room.

"Thank you for tonight. I had a really good time."

"Me too. Thank you for going. I was honestly surprised you didn't turn me down." He told me. I chuckled.

"No. I wouldn't do that."

"We'll I'll see you around." He said. I nodded.

"I guess so." I knew if I was going to do it, I couldn't think about it. If I did, I'd chicken out. I reached up on my tip-toes, and pressed my lips gently to his. When I pulled away, he smiled and touched my face.

"Goodnight Roza." He murmured. I chuckled.

"Goodnight." I whispered, before walking into my room, and closing the door behind me. I stood there for a second with my back against the door. I reached up and touched my lips gently, smiling to myself. The moment my lips touched his, this electric current shot through my body. I could still taste him. I shook my head, and giggled walking into my bedroom, and getting comfortable. I lay back on my bed, and before I knew it, I was asleep. I only knew this because I was on a beach again with Adrian. He smiled.

"Hey little Dhampir." I smiled.

"Hey."

"Heard Dimitri had a hot date tonight?" He said. I nodded, twirling my hair around my finger.

"Yeah, he did." I said, giving him my best man-eater smile. He chuckled.

"Hot indeed." He said. I grinned. "How are you doing with everything?"

"I'm coping." I told him.

"And you and Dimitri?"

"We're… working." I said.

"Working?"

"We've been doing good so far. He's been helpful." I said.

"Helpful?" Adrian asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not that kind of helpful." I said, picking up a shell and throwing it at him. He smiled.

"I'm glad you're doing better."

"I still can't remember anything though." I muttered. It still bothered me a lot more than I showed. He shrugged.

"Your memory might come back soon. You never know."

"I hope so." I murmured.

"I'll let you get your rest. I'll see you around." He said. I nodded.

"Goodnight Adrian."

"Night little Dhampir." He said, as the dream world faded and I was back in my own bed. I curled up underneath my blankets, and closed my eyes, slowly falling back to sleep.


	5. Heavy!

**DIMITRI'S POV**

I woke up that morning to an empty bed, just like I had the past two days. I hated it. I missed having Rose's beautiful face beside me when I woke up. I missed her face being the first thing I saw when I woke up in the morning. I got up, and showered, before getting dressed and heading out. I went down to the café, going to get my usual cup of coffee, when I saw her sitting in the back all alone, cup of coffee and chocolate doughnut in front of her. I smiled. I grabbed my cup of coffee, and walked over to her table. She was staring out the window, looking lost in thought.

"Good morning." I said. She jumped.

"God, you scared the shit out of me." She said, clutching her chest. I chuckled.

"I'm sorry."

"Make some noise or something next time, will ya?" I nodded.

"I'll keep that in mind for next time. You mind if I sit?" I asked. She shook her head.

"No… go ahead." She said, still trying to slow her breathing.

"So, how are you this morning?" I asked.

"I was good till about five seconds ago, when you gave me a fucking heart attack." She said. She was definitely getting back to her old self. I shook my head.

"Ваш-то другое." I murmured. It was Russian, so she looked at me like I had four heads.

"Say what?" She asked, her face scrunched up. I chuckled.

"Nothing… nothing." I assured her. She growled.

"Was that Russian?"

"It was." I told her.

"You should teach me how to speak Russian." She said. I chuckled, remembering back to when she'd asked me to teach her to swear in Russian.

"You once asked me to teach you how to swear in Russian."

"Did you? If you did, I'm going to be pissed, because I don't fucking remember." She said. I laughed.

"No. I told you that you swear enough already, and that you don't need to know how to do it in another language."

"That's not fair."

"It's very fair." I told her. She rolled her eyes at me.

"You said… a few days ago that there was a lot of stuff that happened in our past that was bad… what kinda stuff is there?" She asked. The atmosphere around us went from light to intense in about two seconds. Only Rose Hathaway could do that.

"There's a lot. Our relationship has been a rollercoaster to say the least." I said.

"We've been tip-toeing around my feelings for too long now. The bad stuff is a part of my past just as much as the good stuff. All you've told me is good stuff so far." I nodded once. There were a lot of things I didn't want to have to tell her, things I didn't want to think about.

"Where do you want me to start?"

"The beginning." She said. I nodded.

"We might not want to talk about this here. Would you like to go back to my room with me?" I asked her. She hesitated before answering. It was hard not to notice when she did that.

"Sure." She said. We got up, and headed back into court, and to my room. When she walked in, I noticed she still looked around like it was the first time she'd been in here. Actually, it was only the second time. I guessed she was looking for something to refresh her memory, trying to help her remember. It didn't look like she succeeded, because she plopped down on my bed, and looked at me.

"I'm listening."

"I lied to you. I lied to you a lot." I said. She frowned.

"About what?"

"About me feeling something for you. After the lust spell, you-." She cut me off.

"What lust spell? What's that?" She asked. I sat down on the end of the bed.

"When Victor Dashkov took Lissa, the necklace he gave you had been infused with magic. Inside of it was a lust spell. When the magic started working, it made you go to the person you felt lust for, and you came to me." I told her. She attempted to raise an eyebrow at me as I spoke. "When I first opened my door, I thought you were drunk. You were pretty much out of it, but you were set on one thing, me. You reached up to touch me, but I pinned your hands to your sides, knowing if you did… my control would slip. The moment I touched you, the magic affected me. I pulled you into my room, and… well, things got kind of… heavy?" I was groping for the right word.

"What do you mean, heavy?" She asked. I sighed.

"You know that black dress you wore to the dance when you punched Mia Rinaldi in the face?" She nodded once.

"You weren't wearing that when you were in my room." I said. "I realized what was happening before we went too far. I threw your necklace out the window, and we both woke up. You were pretty pissed that I threw your necklace, but you got over it when you realized you were pretty much naked in my bed." She nodded once.

"What were you wearing?" She asked, smirking at me. I smiled.

"I was already in nothing but some cotton sleep shorts. I managed to keep my clothes on." I said. She looked down at her hands.

"Anyway, after the lust spell, you lied—." She said, trying to keep me going.

"After the spell, you came to me. I felt so guilty about what had happened between you and I. I so nearly took your innocence, and you were still under-age." She snorted.

"I've never been merely innocent, Dimitri." She said. I nodded.

"I'm aware."

"How?" She asked.

"I found you and Jesse Zeklos making out in the activity room of the dhampir dorms. You were half naked then too." She blushed. It was adorable, but remembering back to that day, how jealous I'd been.

"You must not have been too happy?"

"I kind of wanted to rip his face off." I admitted. She giggled.

"Okay, continue." She said.

"You came to me, and I told you to turn me in. I felt so horrible about everything that happened. You tried to convince me that it was just the spell, but I knew better. I knew the spell wasn't the only reason I acted as I did. You refused. I saw in your eyes when you looked at me, I knew you had feelings for me, but I knew with our age… we couldn't ever be together. I told you I felt nothing for you, and I did what I did because of the spell, and that I felt nothing for you. I told you that what happened was stupid, and it would never happen again. I'll never forget your face when I said that. You looked like someone had just stabbed you. I felt horrible. You didn't cry, but I knew you were trying your hardest not too. I felt so horrible for hurting you the way I did. It hurt me more than it hurt you." I explained. She looked up at me.

"What happened after that?"

"You went to Victor's cell, and asked him about it. He told you that lust spells only work within the confines of two people having feelings for one another, and that's why it worked for you."

"And that's when Natalie attacked me?"

"And I saved you." I told her. She shook her head.

"It's like that parts blank. I remember her attacking me, but the rest of its blurry, like I wasn't fully there." I nodded.

"That's memory loss." I said, smirking.

"Anyway… continue."

"After you were attacked, I killed Natalie, and picked you up to carry you to the office. You called me out on what Victor had told you, and with it possible that you were seriously hurt, I couldn't lie to you. I told you how I really felt." She nodded.

"That's not that bad." She said. I smiled.

"Things sort of get worse as time goes on."

"Really? Like what?" She asked.

"There was a time when I almost left the academy, left being your mentor and being with you for Tasha Ozera." I said. Her face fell ever so slightly.

"Why?"

"I thought she could take me away from you. I thought she could make me forget what I feel for you, and help me move on with my life. I should have known better. Nothing could ever make that happen. I knew that." I said.

"What ended up stopping you?" She asked me. I looked down.

"After I found you in the house in Spokane-." She cut me off with a gasp.

"You…. you were the one that found me in Spokane?" I nodded.

"Unfortunately, yes… I was."

"What do you mean unfortunately?" She asked me.

"I would have much rather not seen you like that. The look on you face when we found you still haunts me to this day. You looked so empty, so… so lifeless, like something, some part of you was missing."

"It's my fault Mason's dead." She whispered. I shook my head at her, and touched her hand.

"It isn't. It never was. You made some bad decisions, yes… but in the end, Mason made his decision to go to Spokane. He made that choice, making his death not completely your fault."

"I still feel bad about it sometimes." She admitted. When she looked up, there were tears in her eyes. She blinked them back.

"In the end, I told Tasha no. I knew you needed me, and after Mason's death… I knew you needed me that much more. I wouldn't leave you like that. You had that empty, haunted look in your eyes for months after he died. I wondered if it would ever fully go away."

"It's back now." She whispered.

"What?"

"That empty look, like something, some part of me is missing. It's in my eyes again. I know the part of me I'm missing is you, but… there isn't anything I can do about it. I want to be able to remember. I want to be able to know who I am, know the person I was when I was with you. I want to remember." She whispered, a tear leaking down her face. I scooted closer to her, and wiped it away.

"Your memory will come back."

"And what if it doesn't? What then?" She asked.

"Then we'll have to make new memories, then wont we?"

"It won't be the same. I won't remember how our relationship started, how it grew, anything. I'll always be this, this empty shell what it comes to that part of my life. I still feel empty, hollow inside when I think about you now as opposed to what I don't know." I pulled her into my arms. She sighed, and relaxed against my chest. It was the first time I'd got to hold her since she woke up, and by God did it feel amazing to have her in my arms again. I missed this, missed her so much. I buried my face into her hair, and breathed in deep, reveling in her sweet scent.

"We'll fight our way through this, like we have everything else."

"I hope we make it." She whispered.

"We will, no doubt. I wouldn't let it happen any other way." She took a deep breath.

"I probably need to go. I think this is enough for one day." She said.

"You're probably right. I don't want to overload your brain. We only know it can take so much." I said, teasing her. She growled a little, but pulled away from me. She met my eyes for a second, and I almost thought she was going to kiss me, but she turned her head away, almost as if to stop herself.

"I'll see you later. Thank you… for talking. I want to hear more, later. I just need time to let this all… sink in." I said. He nodded.

"I understand, and it's not a problem." I kissed her forehead as she slid out of my bed. I wanted to hold her here, and never let go, but I knew I couldn't do that. She walked out, meeting my eyes once more before closing the door. I sat there on my bed, staring at the door. She'd taken everything pretty well so far. I hoped that would continue. I lay back, and sighed.

"My Roza is definitely a handful." I muttered to myself as I smiled.


	6. Those Memories Aren't Replaceable!

When I left Dimitri's room, I wasn't in such a great mood anymore. He'd told me a lot of our past was bad, and he was right. It was sort of overloading my brain. I had so much going through my mind. Mason, Natalie, Victor Dashkov, Dimitri and our old relationship. It was definitely hard to process it all. As I headed back to my room, I ran into Lissa. She smiled.

"Hey." She said.

"Hi." The moment I spoke, I knew my voice gave away my mood.

"Is everything okay?" I nodded once.

"Everything's fine." She raised an eyebrow at me.

"I'm not an idiot, you know. Where were you?"

"With Dimitri." I answered. She nodded, knowing automatically.

"Did something happen?"

"No… just digging through my past again." I told her.

"Like what?"

"The lust spell, and the Spokane incident." She nodded once.

"And how'd that go?" She asked.

"Some of it was difficult to hear." I told her. _Difficult_ to hear was definitely an understatement. Actually for most of it, I wanted to cover my ears, and start making loud obnoxious noises so I wouldn't have to hear it.

"I would imagine. You and Dimitri have been through some difficult stuff." She said. I nodded.

"I'm seeing that now." I murmured. She smiled.

"I'm going to meet Christian for some lunch. Would you like to come with me?"

"Are you sure? I don't want to interrupt anything." She rolled her eyes at me, and grabbed my hand.

"Bring your ass on." She said. I giggled, and followed her down and back to the café. When Christian saw me, he wrinkled his nose, but then chuckled. I flicked him off, wanting to be a smart ass too.

"You guys behave." Lissa muttered, as she sat down next to him. He smiled.

"How are you doing, Rose?"

"Like you care, fire boy." I said, smiling. He rolled his eyes. "I'm doing… okay." He raised an eyebrow.

"Just okay?" I nodded once. He didn't press further, which I hadn't really expected him too. Christian isn't one to talk about feelings, at least not unless he's talking to Lissa, and they're alone. I've been in her head a few times when those sorts of things took place, and it was safe to say Christian wasn't as much of a monster as he acts and looks. I smiled at the thought. As they talked, I zoned out, off in my own little world. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to be feeling towards Dimitri in this situation. It was all so much to take in, and it was definitely overwhelming.

"Rose?" Lissa said, clapping her hands next to my head. I jumped.

"What?"

"Jeez, Rose. Welcome to planet Earth." Christian mumbled. I rolled my eyes.

"Shut it fire boy, before I shove my foot so far up your ass-." Lissa cut me off.

"You two, that's enough." She said. I rolled my eyes.

"That's not fun." I complained. She smiled.

"I'm glad you're getting back to your normal self." Lissa said. Christian shook his head.

"She's still not there yet. Her witty quips aren't quite what they used to be." He said. I nodded.

"I'm working on it. I'll be back up there with you soon, I promise." He nodded and smirked at me.

"Good." I rolled my eyes at him.

"You'd think you two were married."

"In his dreams." I said quickly.

"Actually, the only one in your dreams is Ivashkov. That, I know." I felt my face get hot. I knew that they knew he invaded my dreams, but we never really discussed it.

"Christian, stop it. What Adrian and Rose do in her dreams is none of our concern." She said, giggling.

"And that's my que to go. I'm out of here. I'll see you guys later, I presume." She nodded once before I got up and walked away. As I walked into court, and headed for my room, Adrian came around the corner.

"The good times just keep coming, don't they?" I asked. He shrugged.

"If that's what you wanna call it." He said, smiling. "How you holding up?"

"I'm okay."

"Just okay?" He asked. I groaned.

"Yes, just okay. Jeez, first Christian, now you." I said, smirking at him.

"Good to see you're getting back to normal."

"I know. You people would be lost without me. I'm starting to see that now." He nodded.

"Your right. We would be." He said. I smiled.

"I'm going to my room. I'm tired."

"Of course you are. Where were you?"

"I'm sorry, are you my father now?" I asked, answering his question with a question.

"I could be." He said, wagging his eyebrows at me. I chuckled.

"In your dreams, Ivashkov."

"Nope, in yours." He said, winking at me. I rolled my eyes again, and walked around him.

"Good-bye Adrian." I said.

"Bye Rosemarie." He must have heard me growl at him, because he chuckled as he walked away. I went into my room, and laid down thinking of all the things Dimitri has said, all the things he'd told me about. I wasn't really sure how to process it all. It was so much. The lust spell, him being the one that saved me from the house in Spokane, him lying to me about the way he felt to protect mine and his jobs. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to handle all of this, but I was definitely trying. As I lay there, staring at the ceiling… something hit me like a battering ram. I was up out of my bed, the moment the question formed in my mind. I threw my hair up in a pony tail, and headed back to his room. I knocked, and the moment he opened the door, I looked at him and stepped inside, closing his door behind me.

"Roza, what's wrong?"

"Did we…we—." I stopped, not being able to form the question.

"Rose, what are you talking about?" He asked. I met his eyes seriously.

"Did we have sex?" I watched as he registered what I was really asking him. He met my eyes.

"Rose…" He started.

"Answer the question, Dimitri." I snapped at him. He nodded once.

"Yes, we did." The moment the words were out of his mouth, the tears were streaming down my face.

"My… my first time, and I don't even remember." I whispered.

"You'll get your memory back… you'll be able to remember."

"And what if I don't? What if it never comes back… that's a memory I'll never be able to replace, Dimitri." I said. I walked over to his bed, and plopped down, putting my head in my hands. He knelt down so he was at eye level with me. He removed my hands from my face, and wiped the tears.

"You're going to get you memory back. You have to believe that. I'm so sorry that you can't remember… We just have to hope for the best." The day I'd been waiting for practically all my life, and I couldn't remember. I had no recollection of where, how, or why. I only knew that it happened. How was that fair?

"This sucks." I said. I met his eyes. He nodded, and reached up taking my face in his hands.

"I know, Roza. I know it does."

"This isn't fair. It's not fair that you know all of this and I don't. It's not fair that you know me, and know you're in love with me, and I know nothing about you, or who you are, or why I love you. It isn't fair." I cried. I tried to turn away from him, but he wouldn't let me out of his gaze. "Dimitri… just let me go. I want to go."

"No… I can see it in your eyes. You're going to go out and do something stupid."

"Dimitri… let me go." I growled. He shook his head, and tightened his grip.

"I won't have you out taking your emotions out on something else. We have to be able to talk about this." He said. I pushed him off and away from me, trying to get to the door, but he was quicker than I thought he was. He grabbed me, pinning me down to the bed, straddling my lap. I growled.

"Why won't you let me go?"

"I know you. I know your reactions to things, and I'm not going to let you do this. When you calm and in control of yourself, I'll let you go." He said. I could feel darkness boiling even more inside me.

"Fucking let me go, Dimitri. NOW!" I screamed.

"No." He said, amused tone in his voice. I fought against him, but before I knew it, he crushed his lips to mine. The moment it happened, every nerve ending in my body became a livewire. He trailed his tongue along my bottom lip, begging for entrance. I granted it immediately, opening my mouth wide, our tongues battling for dominance. He trailed a hand down my body, letting it rest at my hip. I shuddered at his touch, there was something vaguely familiar about all of this, but at the same time… it was so new. It was then I realized what was happening, what I was doing. I pushed him away, and jumped up.

"Dimitri… I can't-."

"Roza-." He murmured. I shook my head.

"I have to go."

"Rose." He said, warning in his voice. I took a deep breath.

"I'll go straight home." I lied smoothly. He met my eyes for a second and nodded once.

"Okay." He said. I turned to walk out, but the moment I opened the door, he called after me.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"I'm… I'm sorry about the kiss. I shouldn't have-." I shook my head.

"It's okay." I told him, walking out and shutting the door behind me. The moment I was out the door, I ran my hands through my hair, pulling it. I know I promised him I'd go straight home, but I wasn't. Now was not the time to sit and stew on all the things I couldn't remember. I needed to get rid of some frustration, and I knew the one place I could go to do it. I turned down the hall, opposite from the way I'd go to my room, and headed for the gym. I could rid myself of this anger real quick there. The moment I was inside, I walked over to the punching bag, and began throwing punches, hitting with everything I had. As soon as my fists began connecting, I instantly felt better. It wasn't fair. No matter how many times I said it, or thought it, it still wasn't fair. How come my memory had to be wiped? How come I couldn't have just been knocked out for a week or so? Why does all this bad stuff have to happen to me? I don't get it. What did I ever do to deserve things like this? As my fists connected more, I felt them becoming raw. I was supposed to use gloves for the bag… but I never did. As my hits got harder, and the tears flowed faster, my hands began bleeding. I ignored it. The pain was easy to forgot when your adrenaline was pumping the way mine was. I heard the door open behind me, and I was pretty positive I knew who it was before they ever approached me. I felt his arms wrap around my waist, pulling me away from the bag.

"Stop, just let me go. Please, I wasn't done yet." I said, fighting against his hold. The moment he pulled me in front of him to face him, the sobs came pouring out of me. I wasn't ever really a crier, which he knew as well as anyone, but I just couldn't seem to control myself. Things were just so overwhelming. It was as if everything I knew had been ripped out from under me.

"Roza, shhh." He murmured, pulling me into his arms. I buried my head into his sculpted chest, and cried. "Roza, your hands." He was now noticing that they were raw and pouring blood. I shook my head. I was going to tell him I was fine, but the words wouldn't come out. He took me in his arms, and carried me back to his room.


	7. All Over Again!

When he got there, he took me inside and sat me down on his bed, before disappearing. He came back with a first aid kit. _Damn it. _

"I'll be fine. I just want to go… Can I go? Please?" I asked, tears still leaking down my face. He shook his head.

"Not till I do this." He said, voice firm. I knew there was no getting out of it. He sat down in front of me, and smiled slightly. He took my right hand gently in his own, and wiped the blood off of it, revealing my raw and bloody knuckles.

"You should know by now, that you've got to use gloves."

"I don't care." I whispered. He sighed.

"Of course not." I could feel the pain a lot more now that the adrenaline was starting to wear off. I winced at the pain as he cleaned and wrapped my hand. He then moved on to the next one, doing the exact same thing with it. Once he wrapped it, he took them both in his own and kissed them. I looked away from him. He threw the first-aid kit on the table, and turned back to me.

"Roza, you said you were going straight home."

"I lied." I whispered.

"I see that now."

"How'd you know?" I asked, still avoiding his gaze. He pulled my face up to look at him.

"I know you. I know your mind, how you think. I went to your room to check on you, and you weren't there. I knew there were only two places you could be. With Lissa or the gym. You wouldn't go to Lissa in the mood were in, so I went to the gym."

"Doesn't it bother you that you know so much about me? You know what makes me tick, you know every detail, everything about me in every which way, but I know nothing about you, about your past, about anything." I said. He smiled.

"At times, it gets to me. I'll be fine though."

"Wish I could say the same." I whispered. He sat down on the bed next to me, and pulled me against him.

"Come here." He murmured, laying back and pulling me into his side. I should have objected to this. I should have got up and went home, but in this moment, I just needed to be held.

"Do they hurt?" He asked, running a finger over my knuckles.

"No… not really." I whispered. I was lying. It actually felt like my hands were on fire. He met my eyes and smiled. I could tell he knew I was lying.

"I'm sorry you have to go through this. If I could trade places, if I could take your place and have my memory wiped instead of yours… I would do it." He said. He was staring into my eyes with a deep intensity. I knew he meant it. He'd give it all up for me to be able to remember. I shook my head.

"I wouldn't wish this on you."

"I'd rather endure it than watch you suffer from it." He murmured. I felt my eyes fill up with tears again, but I blinked them back. I was sick of crying. It made me feel weak, vulnerable. I didn't like it. I was Rose Hathaway, and I wasn't weak. We laid there in silence for awhile, before I spoke.

"What was it like?" I whispered, looking up at him. The moment he met my eyes, he knew what I meant.

"Amazing." He whispered. From the look in his eyes, I could tell he meant it.

"Where were we?"

"One of the cabins outside of campus. I had to take you there, and calm you down. You were ready to kill-."

"Jesse Zeklos for hurting Lissa." He nodded once.

"I took you there hoping to calm you down. It took forever, but I managed. You kept trying to fight me off, trying to get away, so I pinned you down to the bed. I finally talked you out of the rage you were in, and the real you came flooding back to the surface. It was then that I guess we both realized how close we were to each other, and one thing lead to another… and well." He said. I nodded once. Knowing I couldn't remember losing my virginity made my heartache.

"I wish I could remember. I bet it was amazing…"

"It was. You told me it was everything you wanted your first time to be." He whispered into my hair. He wrapped his arms tighter around my waist, pulling me closer into his side. I reveled in the feel of having someone there for me the way Dimitri was.

"I'm sorry I can't remember."

"That isn't your fault, and you know that." He said.

"If I would have fought harder it wouldn't have happened at all."

"Rose… stop." He said. He tilted my face up to look at him. "In no way, is this your fault. Get that through your head, now." I just looked away from him. The room fell silent once again, and before I knew it… I was asleep. When I woke up the next morning, Dimitri's arms were still around me, but I was lying facing him. He looked so peaceful; I couldn't bare to wake him. Plus, what could I say, being wrapped in his arms wasn't so bad after all. I wasn't sure how long I laid there before his eyes fluttered, and opened to look at me. He met my eyes and smiled.

"Good morning." He whispered.

"Hey."

"How are you this morning?" He asked. I shrugged.

"Not so bad." I said, smirking. He released his hold around my waist, and stretched. I chuckled. I sat up, and ran a hand through my hair, trying to fix it the best I could.

"I should probably get going." I said. He nodded.

"Okay." He murmured. I leaned over, and kissed his lips. The kiss was short and sweet and conveyed everything I wanted to tell him.

"Thank you for last night… I needed you." He nodded.

"I know, and it's not a problem, I assure you." I smiled and rolled out of his bed.

"If you want to come back later… maybe go have lunch at the cafe and catch up on some more stuff, we can." He said. I nodded.

"What time?"

"Three." He said. I smiled.

"I'll get back to you." I said, smirking at him. I then turned and walked out. I went back to my room, and showered. I removed the bandages from my hands to see they looked disgusting. I re-bandaged them, and wrapped them again. I then did my hair, and put on a little make-up. I looked at the clock to see it was almost three. I was wavering back and forth on whether I should actually go. Finally, I gave up. Spending time with Dimitri wasn't something I exactly dreaded and he was definitely good company. I slid on a pair of shoes and headed to his room. When I got there and knocked, he opened the door and smiled.

"I was hoping you weren't going to leave me hanging." He said.

"I thought about it, but decided I couldn't do that." I said. He shook his head at me. We started downstairs and into the café, where he ordered us both a drink and some food, and we sat down.

"So… how's your day been so far, Ms. Hathaway?"

"Good. Yours?" I asked.

"I woke up next to you, so honestly it's been great." He said. I felt my face get warm, so I looked down, taking a sudden interest in my food.

"So… anything about our past you'd like to share?" I asked.

"Hmmm… Well, do you remember that horrible attack we had on the academy? Where Eddie and a bunch of other students were taken?" I nodded once. "You saved my life in that attack." He murmured.

"I did what?"

"I was attacked from behind and didn't have time to save myself. The rest of the guardians retreated because there were more strigoi coming. You ran back to me, staked the strigoi that bit me, and saved my life. You dragged me out of that cave, and half-way carried me back to the academy." He said. I stared at him.

"I… Did I really?"

"You did." He murmured. "I could have been killed or awakened, but… I wasn't because your risked everything to save me."

"I really did love you… didn't I?" He nodded once.

"You did." He murmured. "You promised me before we left the cabin after we…" He trailed off not wanting to say it here in public. "You promised me you'd never let anything happen to me. You kept good on your promise."

"I'm glad."

"Me too." He whispered, smiling at me. We sat in the café for hours, just rambling on about random things, not really discussing anything important. It was nice to step back from my reality and just sort of bond with Dimitri. It made me realize what a sweet, and funny guy he truly was. I knew those things before, but it was nice to see that outside the drama and pain that surrounded our past and my life now. We sat down in the café for at least three hours talking before I sighed.

"I probably need to go. We've been down here forever." I said. He smiled.

"You're probably right. You're due to go back on active duty soon."

"I know I am." I said. We stood up, and he walked me back to my room. "Thank you for lunch, and everything."

"Your extremely welcome Guardian Hathaway." He said, smirking. When I looked up and met his eyes, I saw so much conveyed there. I reached up and touched his face. I pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, but before I could pull away, he knotted his fingers in my hair, refraining me from removing my mouth from his. I wasn't complaining though. I kissed back. I cupped his face, and pushed him away gently. He moved a piece of hair out of my face, and smiled.

"That was uncalled for. I'm sorry, I just miss-." I cut him off by placing my finger to his lips.

"Don't apologize. I liked it." I said, winking at him. "And I know we were like this before. Don't sweat it." He smiled.

"I'll see you later, Roza."

"Okay." I murmured, as I opened my door and walked inside, closing it behind me. I laid my back against it, and smiled, lifting my fingers to my lips. I could still taste him, and boy, did he taste amazing. Was it possible that I was falling in love with him all over again?


	8. I'm Yours!

**DIMITRI'S POV**

The moment I walked away from her, I felt strangely alone. It'd been my own personal hell the past few weeks having to sleep without her, having to go a good portion of the day without her face. It was killing me inside, although I'd never admit that to her. She'd just blame herself like she so often did. I lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling, wishing she was with me. I knew that I wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight. I'd spoiled myself last night when she slept with me, and now I was once again alone. I wasn't sure how long I laid there, before I couldn't take it anymore. I got up, and put a t-shirt on, walking across court to her room. I hesitated before knocking on her door, pretty positive she was already asleep. I was surprised when she answered the door.

"Dimitri… what's wrong?"

"I… I spoiled myself, because I got to sleep with you last night. I was so used to sharing a bed with you, and now—." She cut me off.

"You can't sleep?" I shook my head. "Come in." She said. I stepped inside.

"I'll understand if you want to sleep alone. I'm just so used to-." She smiled.

"It's okay…I get it." She said. She yawned.

"Why aren't you in bed?" I asked.

"Got a lot on my mind." She answered simply.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She assured me. "Come on." She took my hand, and led me into her bedroom, crawling into bed, and patting the space next to her. When I laid down beside her, I was surprised when she curled up close to me, and laid her head on my chest.

"I couldn't sleep without you either." She whispered. I smiled, and ran a hand through her hair. If only she had any idea how much she meant to me, how much I missed being like this with her. I wrapped my arms around her waist, and held her close against me.

"I've missed you, Roza."

"I miss you too." She said. I smiled and buried my face into her hair, breathing in deep, letting her intoxicating scent fill my nostrils. I felt so at peace with her in my arms. I knew this was where I belonged, no doubt. I stared down at her, and watched as her eyelids slowly drooped and she fell asleep. I kissed her forehead, and closed my eyes, slowly falling into a content sleep.

**ROSE'S POV**

When I woke up the next morning, I was staring into the sleeping face of Dimitri. I smiled as I remembered him coming to me last night and asking if he could stay with me because he couldn't sleep. I reached over, and touched his face gently. He wrapped his arms tighter around my waist, and pulled me closer to him. I giggled, causing him to wake up. He smiled.

"Oh… I'm sorry." He said, releasing his hold. I shook my head, and snuggled up to him.

"I don't mind." I murmured. "Did you sleep good?"

"Amazing. You?"

"It wasn't the worst sleep I've ever got." I said, winking at him. He chuckled.

"Glad to hear it." He said. He leaned over and kissed my forehead. "Thank you… for letting me stay."

"It wasn't a problem, I assure you." He smiled, and hugged me close to his side. I snuggled up to him, loving being in his arms. "Can we just stay like this for today?" I asked. He chuckled, and took my hand in his, kissing my injured knuckles.

"If I could, I would… no doubt." He murmured. "But people will probably wonder where we are."

"Let them wonder." I said, burying my face into his chest. He chuckled.

"Come on, we've got to get up." He said, sitting up and pulling me with him. I groaned.

"Fine." I muttered. He smiled at me, as I stretched. He got out of the bed, and smoothed his shirt out.

"I should probably get going." I nodded once.

"Yeah. Will I see you sometime today?"

"I don't know. I'll get back to you." He said, winking. I chuckled.

"Mhmm… sure." I muttered, as he turned and walked out of my room. I rolled out of bed and followed him to the front door. He turned to me, and smiled. He touched my face, his fingers like feathers on my cheeks. He leaned down, and pressed his lips to mine gently.

"I'll see you later." He said, before opening the door and walking out. I sighed, and went back into my bedroom. I got dressed, putting on my guardian uniform. I then headed off to find Lissa. When I found her, she was talking to Queen Tatiana in the throne room. When I walked in, Tatiana kind of grimaced at me. I ignored it.

"Rose, what are you doing?"

"I'm back on active duty." I told her.

"Who said that?"

"Me." I said. She narrowed her eyes.

"Are you sure you're up for that?" She asked.

"Lissa, my lapse in my memory doesn't affect my ability to protect you." I told her. She nodded once.

"Guardian Hathaway, I heard you having trouble remembering Guardian Belikov." She said. I nodded once. I didn't like Tatiana, so having a casual conversation with her, just irritated me.

"Yes your majesty. I'm hoping my memory will come back soon."

"I'm sure it will." She said. Lissa nodded at Tatiana once.

"Thank you your majesty." She said, before taking my arm, and we both walked out.

"I don't think you're ready to be back on duty yet."

"Why not?" I asked, confused.

"You're still dealing with Dimitri stuff, and I don't want you to feel like you-." I shook my head.

"Dimitri and I aren't going to let us get in the way of me protecting you. That I know. Dimitri and I are doing just fine." I told her. She sighed.

"Fine." She muttered. "Any who… how are you two?"

"We're doing exceptionally well." I said. She raised an eyebrow. "He spent the night last night." Her brows rose higher.

"Really?"

"Nothing like that. We just wanted to be together." I said. She nodded once.

"Mhmm." She murmured. I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever Lissa." I said, as I followed her to the lobby of court where Christian stood. He smiled at me.

"Back on duty so soon?" I nodded.

"Yepp. I couldn't deprive you guys of my beautiful face any longer." I said. Christian snorted. I punched his arm, and he flinched grabbing it.

"Ouch. You're supposed to protect the moroi, not harass us."

"I can do both." I snapped, smiling. He rolled his eyes. I followed them around, doing my normal days duties. Lissa let me go home about an hour earlier than she usually did. As I walked towards my door, I was grabbed from behind, a set of strong arms wrapping around my waist. I smelt his after-shave and automatically knew. I'd never tell him I used his scent to recognize him though.

"Hey there." I said, as he allowed me to turn and face him. He smiled.

"Hey. How was your day?" He asked.

"It was good. How was yours?"

"I've had to go most of my day without your beautiful face, so I've had better." He said. I loved how we were actually starting to seem like a couple, and from the sounds of it a normal couple seeing as how before… we weren't really allowed to be together. "Would you like to come back to my room with me? I have a surprise for you." He said. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"I don't know if that's a good idea." I said.

"Why not?" He asked, smirking. I stared at him incredulously for a second, and nodded.

"Alright, let's go."I said. He chuckled, and nodded, walking beside me. When we got to his door he unlocked it, and allowed me to step inside. The lights were off, but in the middle of his room, there was a small table with two plates of food, and a small, lit candle in the middle. I turned to him, and smiled.

"You sneaky bastard." I said. He chuckled.

"I know, I know. I want to do something special for you." He said. I smiled.

"It's adorable. I love it." I said, walking in. He smiled.

"Have I told you… you look amazing in uniform?" He said.

"You may have…but if you did… I'm not exactly capable of remembering." I said. He grinned.

"You look absolutely stunning in uniform." He said. I smoothed my jacket out, and grinned.

"Thank you, thank you." I said. He chuckled.

"Shall we?" He asked, motioning towards the table. He pulled my chair out for me, allowing me to sit. He then walked around and sat down in front of me. I looked down at my plate to see it was pizza, and brownies. My favorite foods, which he by default knew. I smiled.

"Your something else Belikov." I muttered.

"And you love it."

"I guess I do, huh?" I asked, smirking. As we ate, we talked… going into things of our past. He told me about one of our training sessions after my mother gave me a black eye. He also told me about Victor Dashkov threatening to rat us out after the lust spell. We finally decided to ditch all the 'history' and just talk like normal people. We had a lot more fun that way anyway. It was easier to just be when we were just normal, just two people. When we finished eating, I picked up my glass, and started around his room, looking around.

"You know… you'd think I'd remember being here… but I don't."

"I know." He said. I stopped at his counter, and leaned up against it. I then turned and met his gaze, looking down, and then back up at him.

"What would you say if I told you I was falling in love with you… again?" I asked.

"What would you say if I told you those were my intentions when I realized you'd forgotten everything else?" I grinned.

"I'd say that's awfully sweet of you to go through all that trouble just to keep me around." I said.

"You're more than worth it." He told me. I looked down at my feet, and before I knew it, he was in front of me.

"I'm glad you think so."

"I do, or I wouldn't have gone through all the trouble." He told me, smirking. He reached up, and placed a finger under my chin, tilting my head up. He slowly leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. I reached up and knotted my fingers into his dark hair. He reached into my hair and pulled my hair tie out of it, running his fingers through it. I felt his lips turn up at the corners as he continued kissing me. He ran his hands down my arms, and intertwined his fingers with mine. I pulled away and laid my forehead against his. I met his eyes and smiled.

"I love you, Dimitri." He smiled.

"God, you don't know how much I miss hearing that. I love you too Roza." I kissed his lips gently again, and sighed.

"I should probably get going—." I started.

"No… don't leave… I mean-." He stopped. I smiled. "Stay here… with me tonight."

"I don't have anything to wear to bed."

"I can let you borrow a shirt, Roza." He said. I smiled.

"Okay." I said. I helped him clear the table off, and even washed the dishes. I insisted of course. After that was done, we went into his bedroom. He pulled out one of his black t-shirts, and handed it to me. I went into the bathroom, and changed. When I walked out, he was wearing nothing but a pair of cotton sleep pants. I hadn't seen him shirtless, but by God was he gorgeous. It was hard to take my eyes off him.

"It's not nice to stare." He teased. I shook my head.

"I'm sorry." I said. He chuckled, and walked over to me.

"I'm teasing. You can stare all you want… I'm yours." He murmured. I smiled at the thought. I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck, smiling up at him. Being with him, like this was definitely different for me. I liked it though, no doubt. He tugged on his t-shirt and smiled.

"You look good in my shirt." He murmured. I smiled.

"Thanks." I said. I ran my hands down his neck, along his sculpted chest and stomach. He shuddered under my touch. I smiled. I reached up on my tip-toes and kissed him gently. I released him, and walked over to his bed, collapsing on it, and curling up in it. He chuckled and crawled in next to me, wrapping his arms around me, and holding me tight, without the intentions of letting go.


	9. Possesive!

Once again, I woke up to his sleeping face. This was definitely something I could get used too. I snuggled up closer to him, and let him pull me closer into his arms. He chuckled and buried his face into my hair.

"Goodmorning, my Roza." He murmured.

"You're Roza?" I asked, amusement in my voice.

"Yes, my Roza. Your mine and no one else's." He said, his Russian accent lacing his voice.

"That sounds a little possessive, don't you think?"

"Yes, and you love it." He murmured.

"I do." I said. I laid my head against his chest.

"I could get used to this; you know…I've missed waking up next to you every morning."

"I could too." I said. He smiled.

"We probably need to get up." He said. I sighed, and nodded.

"Alright." I said. I got up, and went into his bathroom to get dressed. When I came back out, Dimitri was already dressed. "I should probably get going. I need to change and go find Lissa." He nodded.

"We'll see each other later?" He asked.

"We'll see." I said, smirking at him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and leaned in to kiss him when I was sucked into Lissa's head. There were strigoi.

"_No, Lissa." _I whispered. I took off for Dimitri's door, and towards where Lissa was. I was following the bond, not really seeing anything other than where she was in my head. I heard Dimitri running after me. I didn't have time to stop and explain. When I turned the corner, Lissa ran smack into me. I winced and pushed her behind me. My stomach stirred, and I watched as the strigoi stepped forward. There were four of them.

"Ahh, the famous Rose Hathaway." He snarled. I smiled.

"It's a pleasure to kick your ass too." I said, lunging for him.

"Lissa, go." I screamed from behind me. I then started swinging, catching him in the face. The other strigoi stepped forward as if to gang up on me, but that's when Dimitri jumped in, taking two of them down. Dimitri distracted the one that attacked me for a split second, long enough for me to stake him. I then went on and grabbed the second one, who was trying to triple team Dimitri. I grabbed him, throwing him back into the wall. He snarled, as I dragged my stake across his face. His skin sizzled, and he became angry, pushing me off, making me slam my back into the wall. I lunged back at him, refusing to be taken down that easily again. He grabbed my arms, digging his nails in. I ignored the pain. He swung, but I ducted, causing him to stumble. I kicked him in the mouth, causing him to fall back. I pushed him up against the wall. He kneed me in the stomach, causing me to gag. I didn't let it phase me. I kept fighting, throwing all the kicks and punches I could connect. He swung, and caught me right above the eye. I winced, and lunged at him a last time, and with a speed he wasn't ready for, staking him. The moment his body hit the floor, I turned to find Dimitri about as bloody and battered as I was.

"Roza… are you okay?"

"I have to find Lissa." Was my brilliant answer.

"Rose, your hurt. You're bleeding." He said.

"I have to find Lissa." I repeated. I went running off down the hall, and to her room. I busted in to find her in Christian's arms, shaking.

"Lissa… God, are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm… I'm fine." She said, her voice unsteady.

"God, you two are hurt." She said, sitting up. "Let me he—." I shook my head.

"No. I'll be fine."

"Rose, your hurt." She objected. I shook my head at her.

"I'm not hurt. I'm fine." I told her. Dimitri took my hand.

"I'll take care of her." He told her. Lissa nodded.

"Thank you… for saving me." She whispered. Christian looked up and met my eyes.

"Thank you." He murmured. I nodded once.

"It's my job." I whispered. I walked over, and kissed her forehead. Dimitri and I then walked out. The moment I was out of her room, I laid my back against the hallway wall.

"Roza, are you okay?" He asked. I nodded.

"I'm fine." I whispered.

"Come on… Let's get you back to your room, and get you cleaned up." He said, wrapping an arm around my waist. I nodded, and let him help me back to my room. My entire body was sore. I'd taken some pretty serious hits. He helped me into the bedroom, and down onto the bed.

"Stay… I'll be right back." He said. I nodded as he disappeared. He came back a few minutes later with some aspirin and a glass of water. I took them, and sat the glass of water on the table. He went into my bathroom, and brought out the first-aid kit.

"I'm fine… really." I said.

"You're not. You're bleeding, bad." He said. I groaned. He took out a rag and poured water on, wiping the blood from my wounds. I winced and groaned as he touched me. When he was done, I traced the bruising around his eye, where he'd been hit.

"Does it hurt?" I asked, as he peeled his blood shirt off and threw it to the floor.

"No… It doesn't." He said. I could tell he was lying. He was so much like me.

"You can shower if you want… you're bloody." I said, before he could crawl into my bed. He chuckled.

"Okay. I'll be back." He said, walking around my bed, and into the bathroom. You could tell he had been here a lot. I laid there in bed, waiting on him to get out. When he did, he just had on his boxers. I'd never get over how beautiful he was. He came around and crawled into bed.

"Better?"

"Very." I said. He chuckled.

"Good."

"I should probably go get one too." I said, sighing.

"You going to be okay by yourself?" I nodded once.

"If you hear something hit the ground that means come help me." I said. He chuckled, and nodded once. I went and got into the shower, washing the blood and dirt off me. When I got out, I wrapped a towel around me, and went to get a change of clothes. I could feel Dimitri's eyes on me, and it made me seriously self-conscious.

"See something you like?" I teased without looking at him. I was surprised when I felt his arms wrap around my waist.

"No… I see something I love." He answered, pressing a kiss to my collar bone.

"I need to get dressed." I said, shuddering under his mouth. He nodded once, and released me. I went back into the bathroom, and changed into a spaghetti strap shirt and a pair of shorts. I then went back in and crawled into bed, beside him. He wrapped his arms around me, and held me close.

"You scared me today when you just took off running."

"I didn't have time to explain. I had to get to her." I told him. He nodded.

"I know." He murmured. I buried my head into his chest, and sighed.

"I love you, Dimitri." I whispered. He buried his face in my hair and breathed in deep.

"I love you too, Roza." He murmured. I smiled and closed my eyes, slowly falling into unconsciousness.

The next morning, I woke up to Dimitri's dark brown eyes staring into mine. I smiled.

"Well hello there." I murmured.

"Good morning beautiful." He said, touching my face gently. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore, but I'm good." I assured him.

"I'm glad." He said, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, touching his bruised eye.

"I'm good." He said. I frowned.

"You should let Liss heal that." He shook his head.

"It makes me look tough."

"As if you being built and six foot seven didn't already make you look tough." I said, smirking at him. I ran my hand down his perfectly sculpted chest, tracing little patterns. I felt him try and stifle the shudder that broke from him. I giggled, and sat up.

"I should probably get up. I need to go check on Lissa." I said. He nodded.

"Yeah, that might be a good idea. I should probably go."

"I'll see you later, right?"

"I'm sure, and if not… I'll be here tonight." He said, smirking. I nodded once.

"Okay." I walked him to my door, and reached up on my tip-toes to kiss him. He pulled away, and ran his hands through my hair.

"I love you, Roza."

"I love you too." He opened the door and disappeared. I sighed and went back into my room, putting on my uniform, and throwing my hair up in a pony tail. I did a little make-up, and headed to Lissa's room. When I walked in, her and Christian were curled up on the couch together. There'd been a time I didn't like Sparky. Now, I realized that he was the most amazing thing to walk into Lissa's life (besides me). They both looked up at me and smiled.

"Hey Rose." She said. She sat up, but Christian didn't release his hold around her.

"Hey, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine. How are you?" She asked, motioning to my arms. I shrugged.

"I'm sore, but Dimitri took care of me." I said. She sighed.

"I wish you'd let me heal you." I shook my head and smiled.

"It makes me look tough." I said. Christian chuckled.

"As if people didn't know you were tough already." He said.

"Watch it Sparky." He smiled.

"Sorry." He said. I smiled.

"Just let me heal it. Please." I shook my head.

"I'm fine. I promise. I'll heal perfectly fine on my own." I promised her. She sighed. I could tell it pissed her off that I wouldn't let her. I found it kind of funny, nonetheless. I walked over and sat in her arm chair, as she curled back up next to Christian. It was kind of awkward, but it wasn't so bad. It wasn't as bad as being in her head while they were having sex. I shuddered at the thought of having to experience that. I wasn't sure how long we sat there before Lissa finally turned to me.

"You can go. You don't have to stay here. I'll be fine. Christian will protect me."

"Of course Sparky will." I said, winking at him. He chuckled.

"I will. I promise." He said. I smiled and walked out. The moment I walked out, I thought about going to Dimitri's room, but I changed my minds, and instead… I went to the gym.


	10. Make Love To Me!

I went into the weight room and ran on the treadmill for at least forty five minutes. I didn't have the luxury of having a track I could run here at court. I then lifted weights for a little bit before pulling out a mat and stretching. I pulled one of the fighting dummies out, and threw a few kicks and punches at it. It'd been awhile since I'd actually worked out, so it took me a little bit to get back in the swing of it. I swung a kick and caught something out of the corner of my eye. I jumped and turned to find Dimitri standing there. He smirked at me.

"Hey." I said.

"I was wondering where you disappeared too." He said. I turned and looked up at the clock. I'd been here for three hours. I frowned.

"I'm sorry. I had no idea I'd been here this long."

"It's okay." He said, shrugging. He walked over to the mat and stepped onto it. He looked up at me and smirked. The way he looked at me turned every nerve ending in my body into a livewire. "Wanna play?" The way he asked was just asking for a witty Rose Hathaway quip, but I couldn't help but be intimidated.

"You're serious?" I asked.

"Dead serious."

"I don't know about all of this." I said.

"Awe, come on Roza. I know you're not scared." He said. I growled at him.

"This isn't fair and you know it. This is the first time I've ever done this with you."

"It isn't… You've actually taken me down numerous times. If anything… I should be scared of you." He said. I sighed, and moved the dummy back into the supply closet, before stepping on the mat and meeting his gaze. He smirked at me, causing me to have to stifle a shudder. He took a few steps forward, and I lunged at him. He deflected most of my hits, throwing back his own. I was able to deflect most of those to. I caught one or two, but nothing to serious… nothing I couldn't come back from. Then, I went into complete battle mode. I had to win this. I lunged at him, almost taking him down. It caused him to stumble, long enough where I got a few good hits, and a kick to the back of his legs. I then threw my leg out, knocking his legs from under him. I jumped on top of him, fighting with his hands. Dimitri's body its self was stronger than mine, and he rolled us over so he was on top of me. I fought back, rolling over back onto him and placing my hands over his heart. I smiled down at him.

"Dead." I whispered. Our breathing was labored, and it actually took my mind a minute to comprehend what I'd just done. I smiled. "I did it. I took you down." I was pretty hysterical.

"I told you." He said. I smirked down at him.

"You're not as big and bad as you look." I told him. He growled and rolled over, putting himself on top of me. It was hard to really concentrate when his body was pressed against mine the way it was. It was actually hard to breath. I gazed up into his eyes, getting lost in their depths.

"Really? Not so big and bad, huh?" He asked.

"Nope." I breathed. He leaned down, and pressed a hot, sensuous kiss to my throat. I almost shuddered, but I contained it. He trailed them up my throat, and back down again to my collar bone.

"Not so big and bad?" He asked again. I shook my head. Instead of kissing me, he drug his lips over my skin gently, causing goosebumps to rise in its paths. I shuddered under his touch, not being able to contain it any longer. I grabbed his face in my hands, and brought his mouth to mine, kissing him fiercely paying him back for the sweet, and sadistic torture. I bit his bottom lip, causing a small moan to escape his lips. I smiled against his mouth, and stood up, pulling myself away from him. He frowned.

"Being teased… it's not so much fun… is it?" I asked. He growled at me. The sound was more seductive than it was primal. I giggled.

"That wasn't fair and you know it."

"Life's not fair. Get used to it Belikov." I snapped playfully. He lunged after me, and I took off running. He caught me, of course. I thought I'd be faster than him…but it didn't turn out that way. He pushed me up against the back wall, and smiled, bringing his mouth to mine. His kisses were soft, feather light… but held so much meaning with each one. When he pulled away, he smiled.

"I love you, Roza."

"I love you too Dimitri." I said. He chuckled.

"Your room or mine tonight?" He asked. I smiled.

"Yours." I answered. He nodded once.

"Let's go then." He said, taking my hand and leading me out of the gym. When we got to his room, the moment the door closed behind him, he took my face in his hands, and kissed me with such passion it almost brought me to my knees. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and allowed him to pick me up, carrying me into his bedroom, and laying me down on his bed. He never removed his lips from mine. He hovered over me, running his hands over my body. He pulled me into a sitting position and pulled my uniform jacket off.

"I thought you liked me in uniform." I asked, when he removed his lips from mine and kissed down my neck. He chuckled against my skin, causing goosebumps to rise.

"I like you better out of it." He murmured. His voice was husky and his Russian accent laced his words thick as he spoke. I giggled. He reached up, and started on the buttons of my white blouse. It didn't take him long before he had them all undone and pushed it away from me. He ran his lips down my chest, between my cleavage and to my stomach, pressing butterfly kisses all the way down to my navel. I ran my hands underneath his t-shirt, and worked them up, pulling his shirt up too. I pulled it off over his head, him making an annoyed sound at the separation of his lips from my body. I smiled as he brought his lips back to mine. He ran his hands down my body to the button on my black slacks, undoing them, and working them downward, until pulling them off all together. I ran hand my hands down his chest, tracing each distinct muscle until I reached the button of his jeans. I undid them, and he helped me get them off him. He then tossed them to the ground, and came back up to hover over me. I knew where this was going, and to be honest… this was like losing my virginity all over again. I was kind of nervous, but there wasn't a single feeling in my body that wanted this to stop. He ran his hands up my back, and stopped at the hook of my bra, and kissed down my chest, sucking on the skin right above the lace material. He then flipped the hook and pulled it away from me, throwing it to the floor. I knew I should have been nervous… but as more clothes came off, the more confident I became. When we were both finally completely undressed, I was having a hard time breathing. Dimitri was hot without a shirt on. He was gorgeous. Completely naked? Nothing compared. Dimitri was amazing and gorgeous and beautiful in every which was possible. He ran his hands down my body exploring every plane possible. He left little electric sparks in his fingers paths. He finally pulled away and met my gaze, almost as if asking for permission. I smiled and placed my mouth by his ear.

"Make love to me, Dimitri."


	11. White Walls!

The moment the words were out of my mouth, he met my eyes with a serious intensity. Everything Dimitri was ever feeling was conveyed through his eyes, and right now, staring into them eyes, he looked nervous. He traced a hand down my body, exploring once again. He then ran his hands down my arms, and intertwined his fingers with mine, lifting them and pinning them above my head. He brought his mouth to mine, and slowly lowered himself into me. I threw my head back, and gasped as he entered me. He pulled his mouth away from mine and looked down at me to see if he'd hurt me. I wasn't sure what he found on my face, because he smirked, and pulled out, thrusting deeper into me the second time. This time, I moaned his name, squeezing his hands in mine above my head. There wasn't a feeling in the world that compared to this, that compared to being pressed body to body with Dimitri. As he found a steady pace, he'd press deeper into me every time, until he was fully sheathed inside of me. I arched my back, pressing by body up into his, causing my name to fall from his lips. He brought his mouth to mine, kissing me hard and deep. It was a kind of kiss I'd never shared with him, but it set my body on fire. He'd mutter things in Russian, but by default I had no idea what he'd said. I may not have understood it, but it was damn sure sexy when he talked in his native tongue. Hearing his voice so deep and husky with that damn accent was enough to send me over the edge. As we continued, I could feel my release getting closer and closer. He finally released my hands, letting me have some control over my body. As he released my hands, he trailed them back down my arms, over my breasts, my stomach. He left goosebumps in his fingers paths. I whispered his name. I was on the edge, and he knew it. He brought his mouth to mine, kissing me sweetly once again, setting my body on fire. He thrust into me one last time, and I felt myself clench around him, causing my entire body to convulse. He threw his head back, and moaned my name, as his body collapsed onto mine, completely exhausted. We were both covered in sweat and breathing hard. I couldn't even open my eyes; the ecstasy flowing through my veins was too much. I felt him push his body off of mine, and stare down at me.

"Roza?" He asked. I still was having a hard time opening my eyes. "Open your eyes, look at me." I had to try extra hard, to force them open. My entire body was still quaking from the white wall of ecstasy I'd just crashed over. When I looked up to meet his eyes, they were clouded over, still full of lust.

"You're so beautiful. It's hard to believe your real." He said. I smiled up at him. I wondered what it was he saw in my eyes. I reached up, and knotted my fingers into his hair, hands still shaking. I brought his face down to mine, and smiled.

"It's hardly fair to everyone else that your mine." I murmured, before pressing a kiss to his lips. He reached up and knotted his fingers into my hair, tugging on it gently in his hands. I moaned against his mouth a little, causing his body to convulse a little. When he pulled away, he smiled down at me, and rolled over onto his side. I scooted against him, as he wrapped his arms around me. Both of our bodies were slick with sweat, and neither of our breathing had completely slowed yet. He ran a finger down my body, tracing little patterns on my stomach. I smiled as I watched him.

"Was it like this the first time?" I whispered, my voice shaking. He chuckled at me.

"It was."

"Wow." I murmured. He smiled, and brought my mouth to his.

"It'll be like this every time." He said.

"You promise?" I asked, smirking at him. He nodded.

"Promise." He said. I giggled.

"Good." He ran his hands along my stomach, my arms, every inch of skin that wasn't covered with a blanket.

"Your shaking." He murmured. I nodded.

"I know." I whispered, meeting his gaze. He smirked at me.

"I'm going to get a shower, would you care to join me?" He asked. I stared at him for a second, and nodded. He took my hand, and helped me up out of the bed. My knees were still weak from my body shaking. If only he really knew what he did to me. I don't think he really had any idea. The ecstasy was still coursing through my veins. He turned on the water, and stepped in, pulling me with him. The moment we were both in, and he closed the shower door, he pressed me up against the wall, and brought his mouth to mine. If my knees weren't weak before, they definitely were now. He had to wrap an arm around my waist to keep my standing. I knew he was loving this, loving what he could do to me. He then trailed kisses along my throat, my neck, my chest, wiping his tongue over every area of skin his lips touched. I moaned and shuddered as he planted more kisses everywhere.

"I thought we were getting a shower." I whispered.

"We're working on it." He said, against my skin, chuckling. I giggled. I ran my hands from his neck, all the way down his body, and stopped, right before I reached his manhood. I could tell he was having a hard time keeping his control.

"Roza?" He all but growled. He wasn't the only one who had some kind of magical power over the other. I smirked.

"Yes?" I murmured, seductively. He pressed me harder into the wall and growled in my ear, pressing a kiss right below it. I giggled, and shuddered. After a lot of heavy making-out, we eventually showered, washing each other lovingly. Each stroke of a hand, each brushing of finger tips held some much passion, so much love. It was staggering. After the shower, we got out, and dressed and crawled into bed. I curled up next to him, and laid my head on his chest.

"Thank you." I whispered, turning my head to look up at him.

"For what?"

"Everything." I answered simply. He chuckled.

"Your very welcome, Roza." He said, kissing my forehead. He ran his hands through my hair, and sighed. "Have I ever told you how much I love your hair?"

"If you did, I don't remember." I answered.

"I do… your hair is gorgeous." He murmured.

"I was thinking about cutting it."

"NO." He said, quickly. I jumped and giggled.

"Why not? It's getting way to long."

"Don't even think about it." He said. I sighed.

"Fine, fine. I won't." I said. He buried his face into my hair, and breathed in.

"I remember once when we were training back at the Academy, I told you that I loved your hair. You told me that you didn't want to have to cut it because most guardians did to show off their marks. I begged you not too then too." He told me. I smiled.

"I wish I could remember that."

"You will one day. Your memory will come back eventually. It's got to." He said. I nodded.

"I hope so. I love being with you now… but I'd love to be able to remember our past." I told him. He nodded once.

"I know, Roza. I know." He pulled me closer into his side, and sighed.

"I love you." I murmured. I could feel myself drifting to sleep. He'd definitely worn my body out in the gym and in the bed. I smirked to myself.

"I love you to my Roza."

"I'll always be your Roza." I whispered, the words barely audible. I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open.

"Go to sleep, Roza. I'll be here when you wake up."

"You better be." I said, my voice sounding so sleepy. He chuckled.

"Goodnight Roza."

"Goodnight Dimitri." I murmured, before letting my lids droop and falling asleep.


	12. Some Things Never Change!

I woke up the next morning, wrapped up in Dimitri's arms. I had to admit, this was my favorite place to be, and I definitely didn't mind the fact that he was almost smothering me. I twitched a little, trying to loosen his grip. It didn't exactly work the way I wanted it too. He then held tighter to his chest. I took a deep breath, and tried to push myself out of his arms. He then squeezed me tighter. I gasped and he started chuckling.

"Can't breathe." I gasped, smiling at him. He released his hold on me, and chuckled.

"Sorry." I nodded.

"Mhmm." I muttered.

"I am. I just like being close to you."

"No, you just like smothering me." I said. He shrugged.

"Maybe a little of both." He assured me. I rolled my eyes and sat up to look at him.

"Well, good morning to you too sunshine." I said. He grinned and leaned over to kiss me.

"Good morning." He murmured as he pulled his mouth away from mine. I sighed.

"I guess I need to get dressed, and go home to change. I've got to find Lissa." I said. I tried to roll out of bed, but he grabbed me, pinning me down.

"Don't leave." He said.

"I have to go." I said. He shook his head, and brought his mouth to mine, kissing me all too persuasively. I reached up and knotted my fingers into his hair, clutching him closer to me. I was losing this fight horribly.

"Dimitri…" I murmured against his mouth. He moved his lips to my neck.

"Yes?" He murmured, seductively.

"I have to go. Lissa's going to worry if I don't show up."

"Just five more minutes?" He whispered.

"No… If I give you five more minutes, I won't be leaving at all." I told him. He chuckled.

"You might be right. You think Lissa can give you an hour or so off so we can go to lunch?" He asked.

"I'm sure I can manage it." I said. He nodded.

"Meet me at the cafe at three."

"Will do." I promised. I rolled out of his grip, and dressed quickly, kissing him one more time before heading home to change into a clean uniform. I then headed off to find Lissa. I found her downstairs in the main hall talking to a group of royals. When I walked up, she smiled.

"Rose, this is Jessika Zeklos." She said. I smiled brightly. Something about that last name was familiar. I knew Jesse Zeklos, but there was something else… something important about that family. I couldn't remember what it was though. It was bothering me. Something about one of them dying, I just couldn't concentrate hard enough to figure it out.

"It's so nice to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet the princess's guardian. I've heard a lot about you." She said, smiling brightly. I then saw someone walk up behind her. I'd know him anywhere. _Jesse Zeklos. _

"Hey Rose."

"Jesse." I said, inclining my head. I wasn't really fond of Jesse after everything that happened with him and Lissa.

"What are you guys up too?" I asked Lissa, after removing my glare from Jesse.

"We're planning a ball committee. The court needs to do something fun, so me and Jessika are planning to have a ball."

"The queens okay with this?" I asked. Lissa nodded once. "Awesome." I said. She grinned. I followed them into one of the conference rooms as they worked on, details of how things would go, a theme, and such. I could feel Jesse's eyes on me every now and again. When lunch time rolled around, and it was almost three, I turned to Lissa.

"Hey Lissa, can I take my lunch break? Dimitri wants me to meet him for lunch."

"Yeah, go ahead. I'll be fine." She said. I nodded once.

"Hey, Where's fire boy?"

"Off with his aunt." She answered.

"Oh.. Okay. I'll be back soon." I told her.

"Hey Rose, you mind if I walk with you?" He asked. I met his gaze for a second.

"I guess not." I muttered, as I got up and walked out.

"So, how's life been treating you?" He asked.

"Stop pretending to care, Jesse. You hate me." I said. He rolled his eyes.

"Rose, honestly… I'm not that same punk from school."

"Really?" I asked. He nodded.

"I'm serious. Lissa believes me. I even apologized for what I did to her back at school." He said.

"Doesn't mean I like you."

"Awe, come on Hathaway. I remember when me and you used to be like this." He said, crossing his fingers. "We used to sneak into the activity room and make-out all the time." I growled at him.

"I'm a different person now. I'm not like that anymore."

"Yeah, I heard your sleeping with that Russian guy now… Belikov? Isn't it?"

"Stop talking, Jesse."

"What? Are you?" He asked, smirking. I rolled my eyes.

"Who I'm sleeping with is none of your concern. If I remember correctly, I slept with you and Ralf too, remember?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Awe, Come on. That was-." I cut him off.

"A long time ago. I know." I said. I saw Dimitri standing outside the café. When he saw Jesse, his body tensed up. It was then I remembered that whatever I'd been thinking about the Zeklos family also had to do with Dimitri. That was the sole reason I couldn't remember. When I reached him, he took me into his arms.

"Dimitri, you remember Jesse Zeklos, right?" I asked. He narrowed his eyes.

"I do. What brings you to court?" He asked Jesse.

"Business with my mom and sisters. Their working with Lissa."

"Long story. I'll explain later." I promised. He nodded.

"It was good seeing you again, Rose. Maybe I'll see you around." Jesse said.

"Maybe." I said, as he turned and walked away. I wasn't going to add that I hopefully wouldn't see him around. Dimitri growled a little as he walked away.

"What?" I asked, giggling.

"All I think about when I see that kid is finding you and him half naked in the activity room, making-out." He said. I giggled.

"You had more of me last night than he's ever had in his life… don't worry about it." I said. I watched as his face turned a little pink. We went inside, and ordered some food and sat down in a booth in the back. He looked deep in thought as I told him about what Lissa and Jessika were planning.

"What's wrong? You're thinking about something."

"It's nothing."

"Belikov." I barked, glaring at him. He chuckled.

"Don't you snap at me."

"Tell me, or you'll be sleeping alone tonight." I threatened.

"You wouldn't." He said.

"Try me." I said, smiling. He sighed.

"Seeing Jesse makes me remember my old charge."

"Huh?" I asked. He looked at me and then nodded.

"I keep forgetting, you haven't gotten your memory back yet. I was the guardian of Ivan Zeklos. He was my best friend, and on one of my days off duty he was killed. Jesse was obviously related to him, and they sort of resemble each other. It just brought old memories back." He told me. I frowned.

"I'm sorry." I said. He shook his head.

"Don't start. We already went through all this back at the academy."

"I know… it's just-." I stopped. "Hey… I think I'm starting to get my memory back a little. Whenever Liss introduced me to Jessika, I remembered that something with you and the Zeklos's had happened, but I couldn't remember exactly what it was. What if I'm starting to get my memory back?"

"That'd be amazing. Let's not get too excited just yet." He said. I sighed and nodded.

"Guess you're right." I muttered.

"I still don't want you around him." He said.

"Jesse?" I asked. He nodded. "He's harmless. I could kick his ass now."

"You could have kicked his ass then. I just can't help remember the things he did to you, said to you, told other people about you."

"He's not that same kid anymore."

"Did he tell you that?" He asked. I nodded once. "Don't buy it. I've been with the Zeklos's long enough to know they don't change." I sighed.

"Alright, look. I've got to get back to work. I'll see you later?"

"Don't you always?"

"I do." I told him. He smirked at me.

"Your room tonight?"

"Yes sir." I stood up, and he walked me back into court. He kissed me.

"I'll see you soon." He said. I smiled, and nodded.

"Yes Guardian Belikov." I said. He growled, and nodded as he walked away. I smirked and went back to help Lissa with plans for her damn ball.


	13. Exhausting!

By the time I was off duty, and heading back to my room, I was exhausted. I'd listened to Lissa plan that damn ball all day long. I sort of wanted to strangle her. I'd heard so much about dresses and DJ's and decorations, I could puke. When I walked into my room, I sat down at the counter, and put my head in my hands. I was ready for bed, pronto. As I sat there, there was a knock at my door.

"Come in." I called, knowing it was Dimitri. He smiled as he walked in.

"You look like you're ready for bed."

"I am. I'm worn out." I said. He chuckled, and walked over to me, wrapping his arms around me. I laid my head against his chest and sighed, breathing in his intoxicating scent.

"Why don't you and I go get a nice bath, and then we'll go to bed?" He asked. I smiled.

"That sounds nice." I murmured, my words sleepily spilling from my mouth. He chuckled and nodded, taking my hand and leading me into my bedroom, and into my bathroom. He turned the water on, and let the tub start filling up, and then turned to me, helping me out of my clothes. I helped him out of his the best I could. It was hard when I could barely stand on my own. He helped me into the tub, and then got in after me, pulling me against his chest. I laid my head back against his shoulder, and sighed.

"So how was your day Mr. Belikov?"

"Boring. I was without you." He murmured. "I went down and helped Hans with some security, but other than that… I was bored."

"Fun." I muttered.

"Can't be as much fun as planning a ball." He said, chuckling. I could feel the movement in the tub. I growled and turned around to face him.

"Not nice. You have no idea the hell I've went through." I said. He tilted my chin up, and pressed a kiss to my lips. I melted into that kiss. After a long day of work, this was amazing to come home to. I curled up against his chest, and laid my head on his shoulder. He pressed a kiss to my forehead, and sighed.

"I love you Roza."

"I love you too Dimitri." I whispered. I buried my face into his neck, and pressed a kiss there. I snuggled up against him, and before I knew it… I was asleep. I felt him pull me out of the water, and clothe me, but I wasn't actually conscious for any of it. Once he helped me get dressed, he carried me into the bedroom, and laid me down in bed. He pulled me against him, and wrapped his arms around me. When I woke the next morning, he had his face buried in my hair, running his fingers through it lightly.

"Good morning." He whispered.

"Morning love."

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"I'm good. Why?"

"I was sort of worried… you just kinda passed out on me last night." He said. I shrugged.

"I was tired. You wore me out the day before and I worked all day yesterday. I was exhausted." I told him. He smirked a little, but didn't comment.

"Is Lissa working on ball arrangements some more today?" He asked. I nodded once.

"Unfortunately." I muttered. He chuckled.

"Have fun with that. I've got to go help Hans set up security today, so I'm afraid I won't be able to meet you for lunch."

"Ugh… that's okay, I guess. I'll just stay with Lissa for lunch, and get off earlier." I told him. He nodded once.

"Sounds good." He said. We rolled out of bed, and dressed, said our good-byes and parted. As I walked, I heard my name and turned to see Jesse.

"Hey, Rose."

"Hi." I said.

"How are you this morning?" He asked.

"I'm good." I said, giving him a strange look. He smiled.

"So… Are you going to the ball with Belikov?" He asked.

"I'll probably be on duty, but yes… I'll be there with Dimitri. Why?"

"I was just wondering." He said. "Were you with him back at school?"

"Yes. Why?"

"That's like… cradle robbing."

"Jesse, if you're going to run your mouth, go do it to someone else. I won't hesitate to hit you." I told him. He stepped away from me.

"I was just saying. I never took you as that type."

"What type?"

"The type to date someone way out of their age range." He said. I rolled my eyes.

"You don't know me, and you didn't know me, so drop it Jesse." He nodded once.

"I'm sorry. I just don't care for him that much. He's the reason my great uncles dead." He said. I turned and grabbed his throat, pinning him to the wall.

"It is not Dimitri's fault he's dead, understand? Dimitri was off duty. It was his other guardian's responsibility to take care of him and he didn't. He failed him. Don't you dare ever blame Dimitri for that." I released his throat, and let him drop to the floor. I then turned and walked away. The moment I walked into the room with Lissa, she caught my mood.

"Hey, are you alright."

"I'm fine." I said, bitterly. She nodded once. I could feel her probing through the bond, but I shut her out, careful not to let her in. Jesse walked in a few minutes later, rubbing his throat. I smirked at him as I took a seat beside Lissa. It was going to be a long day. She was planning on the ball going down this weekend. She wanted to have everything ready by Friday, have the ball Saturday, and do clean up Sunday. Her and Jessika once again launched into plans. Lissa let me off really early, her and Jessika going to go back to her room, and hang out, taking a break. I went off to find Hans and Dimitri. When I found them, they were with a group of guardians, setting up stations. Dimitri beamed at me when I walked in.

"Hathaway." Hans muttered. He'd never liked me. He'd tell you I was a rotten bitch. Although it was true, I didn't like him telling me. I walked over and stood behind Dimitri, watching as he explained what it was he was wanting. Hans just nodded in approval. It was easy to see who the leader of this pack was. Once they were done, the guardians scattered, and Dimitri and I headed home.

"You're off early."

"Liss and Jessika are taking a break." I told him.

"Lucky you." He said. I nodded.

"I know." I said. We walked past Jesse as we headed home. I narrowed my eyes at him, and growled.

"What?" Dimitri asked when we were out of hearing distance.

"Nothing." I muttered.

"What is it?"

"Jesse and I kinda got into a fight today, and I kinda choked him a little."

"Rose!" Dimitri said, disapproving.

"I was sticking up for you." I snapped. He met my gaze and sighed.

"He blamed me for Ivan's death… didn't he?" I looked down and nodded.

"They all did." I growled.

"It wasn't your fault, and you know it." I said. He nodded.

"I guess." He said, as we walked into his room. I threw myself onto his couch and sighed. "Tired again?"

"Tired, physically? No. Tired of everything else? Yes."

"Awesome." He muttered. He walked over to me, and leaned down, kissing me sweetly. It was a quick kiss.

"Hey, come back here. I wasn't done yet." I said. He leaned down, and brought his mouth back to mine. I giggled against his mouth as he kissed me more deeply. When he pulled away, he met my gaze.

"Better?" He asked.

"Very." I assured him. He chuckled, and went into his kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water. He walked over and sat down next to me. I laid my head over in his lap.

"So, are you going to accompany me to this ball?" He asked.

"Hmm… I don't know. We'll see." I told him. He gave me a shocked look.

"Ouch, Hathaway. I'm hurt. Who else would you take?"

"I'm sure Jesse would-." He cut me off by growling and placing his hand over my mouth.

"Don't go there." He said. I smirked, and nipped at his hand. He growled at me again, pulling his hand away slowly.

"You know I'm kidding. I'd be happy to go with you." I said, touching his face. He smirked.

"That's more like it." He said. I smiled, and kissed him. We stayed curled up on the couch until we both eventually fell asleep.


	14. Wouldn't Change A Thing!

When I woke up the next morning, I moved, rolling over, expecting to be in Dimitri's bed, but I wasn't. I realized that when I hit the floor.

"Ouch, god dammit." I snapped, as I looked around. Dimitri was on the couch, rubbing his eyes.

"Roza?"

"Yeah?" I muttered, from the ground. He opened his eyes, and looked down at me.

"What happened?"

"I fell. I forgot, we were on the couch." I said. He chuckled. I crossed my arms, and frowned.

"It's not funny." I snapped. He reached down, and helped me up, pulling me back into his arms on the couch.

"Your right. It's not funny. I'm so sorry for laughing." He said, pulling me against his chest, and kissing my forehead. I sighed I'd never get used to the feel of his lips on my skin was something I'd never fully get used to.

"I have to go home and get dressed so I can get to Lissa."

"Lissa can wait." He said, trailing kisses down my face to finally find my lips with his. I reached up, knotting my fingers into his hair, but pulling away and jumping up.

"No… she can't." I snapped, smirking. He growled.

"That wasn't fair." He complained, standing. I shook my head.

"It was very fair." I told him. He rolled his eyes.

"Alright, go to Lissa." He said. I smiled.

"Not before you come give me a good-bye kiss." He sighed and got up, walking over to me. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me against his body. He leaned down, and pressed a sweet and sensuous kiss to my lips, of course making me want more. When he pulled away, he stepped back out of my grasp.

"Go to Lissa." He said. I rolled my eyes.

"We meeting up for lunch?"

"Of course." He told me. I nodded.

"Okay. I'll see you at lunch then."

"Okay." He said, before I turned and walked out. I went straight to my room, showering and making myself presentable. I then headed downstairs to the conference room, where I knew I'd find her. There was a huge white box on the table, in front of where she sat. Mrs. Jessika Zeklos sat to the right of her, Jesse sat at the end of the table, smiling up at me as I walked in. I grimaced and looked to Lissa.

"Good morning."

"Hey, Rose." Lissa said. I could feel her excitement through the bond. "I have something for you." She pushed the large white box towards me.

"What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything. I just got you something… you know, for all the trouble I cause you and stuff. It's a gift." I opened the box to pull out this gorgeous blood red dress. It was definitely the most beautiful dress I'd ever seen.

"Lissa… it's gorgeous." I whispered.

"I know. I knew you'd like it."

"I don't like it. I love it. Where'd you get it?" I asked. She smiled.

"Princesses secret." I rolled my eyes.

"Of course." I muttered. I hugged her. "Thank you. I love it."

"You're welcome. I know you've been going through a rough time and all, and with everything you do for me, I wanted to get you something nice." She told me. I smiled. I really truly did love my best friend. I sat down, and listened as they went on with plans. After all, it was only two days away. They were finalizing everything and making phone calls to everyone to make sure everything was final and a done deal. At lunch time, I hugged Lissa and headed down to the Café to meet Dimitri. He wasn't outside waiting, like he normally was. I stood there for a second, when I felt a set of arms wrap around my waist.

"Hello Beautiful." He murmured, the sweet Russian accent lacing his words.

"Hi." I whispered. I turned in his arms, and smiled, wrapping my arms around his waist. He leaned down and kissed me. We went inside, and sat down at our normal booth, as he went and got out food. When he sat down, he looked at me, and smiled.

"You seem to be in a good mood."

"I'm always in a good mood." I told him. He snorted. "Okay, well not always… but when I'm with you, I am."

"Okay. That's true." He said, smiling. I chuckled.

"So… tell me, do you look good in a tux?"

"Damn good." He told me. I smirked.

"Good, because I'm going to need someone as hott as me to accompany me to this ball." He chuckled, and shook his head at me.

"Your something else, Roza."

"I know, and that's why you love me." I said, smirking at him.

"That's not the only reason." He said. I felt my face get hot, and I shook my head, suddenly interested in my food. He laughed. We finished our food, and I headed back to Lissa. We sat and talked for awhile, before Jesse came over to me.

"Rose, can I talk to your outside for a minute?"He asked.

"Is it important?"

"Kind of." He said. I sighed, and got up, walking outside with him.

"What?" I snapped.

"Look, I just wanted to apologize for the things I said. I shouldn't have said them. They were rude. You're grown, and make your own choices and I shouldn't have said the things I did. I'm sorry."

"Good. You should be sorry. The shit you said was uncalled for." I snapped.

"You grabbing my throat wasn't exactly called for either."

"Bull shit it wasn't. You deserved it, you were being a dick." I told him, smirking.

"You supposed to protect moroi, not harass them."

"You're not my moroi." I growled.

"You've changed."

"You're wrong. I'm still just as much of a bitch as I was before." I snapped. He rolled his eyes, and walked away from me.

"Asshole." I muttered under my breath. The door opened, and Lissa and Jessika came out. I smiled. Lissa handed me my dress, and smiled.

"I expect you to wear that to the ball."

"Of course." I assured her. She smiled.

"Walk me home?" I nodded.

"See you tomorrow, Jessika." Lissa assured her, before we started back towards Christian and her room.

"So how are things? I feel like I've been so wrapped up in the ball thing, I haven't asked that lately."

"Things are really good actually." I told her. It was good that I wasn't lying anymore. Things were actually pretty fantastic.

"That's good. Any recollection of Dimitri?"

"None." I told her, honestly. She frowned.

"You'll get it back soon."

"I hope so. I really do. I keep hoping." I admitted. When we reached her room, Christian was sitting on the couch, reading a book.

"Do you ever do anything other than sit on your ass?" I asked.

"Do you ever do anything other than give me a hard time?"

"Yes, I protect your girlfriend, smart ass." He growled.

"Whatever." He muttered, putting a bookmark between the pages, and kissing Lissa.

"You okay?" I asked. She nodded, wrapping her arms around Christian.

"He'll take care of me." She said. I snorted.

"Pshhh… the boy can barely take care of himself." I told her.

"Rose, be nice."

"Yeah, be nice." He repeated. I rolled my eyes.

"You two have fun. I'm going to find my Russian." I told them. Lissa giggled.

"See you tomorrow." Liss said, as I walked out. When I walked into my room, Dimitri was sitting on my couch. I jumped.

"Holy shit. You scared me, what are you doing here?"

"Waiting on you. I saw Jesse and Jessika, so I came here to wait on you." I smiled. I sat my box and my keys on the counter.

"What's in the box?" He asked, walking over to it, and trying to open it.

"Surprise. You can't see it." I said, batting his hand away.

"That's not fair."

"It's very fair." I told him, laughing. I took the box into my room, putting it in my closet. As I turned, to walk back out, Dimitri tackled me to the bed. I chuckled as he smirked down at me.

"What was that for?" I asked.

"Just cause." He murmured, before bringing his mouth to mine. I giggled against his lips, as I reached up and knotted my fingers into his hair. He pulled away from me, and grinned.

"I love you, Roza."

"I love you too." I murmured. He rolled us over, putting me on top of him. I smiled down at him.

"Have I told you how beautiful you are?" I asked.

"You might have said something like that, but I wouldn't mind hearing it again." He told me. I ran my finger tips lightly across his face. He grabbed my hand, and kissed it.

"You're the most beautiful thing in my world." I promised him. He chuckled.

"Good, and it better stay that way… forever."

"And if it doesn't?" I asked, teasing.

"Psh…like you have a choice." He told me, poking me. I rolled my eyes.

"Please… I'm a Hathaway. I do what I want… and you of course know that." I said, touching his nose. He smiled.

"I do." I leaned down and kissed him gently. He smiled up at me. I stripped my uniform and put on something more comfortable, curling up in bed with him. I laid my head on his chest, and sighed.

"Dimitri, in all honesty… do you think I'll ever get my memory back?" I whispered.

"I honestly don't know Roza. I like to believe you will, but if you don't I guess there's nothing we can do." He said. I could tell it hurt him, thinking about me never remembering everything that happened between us before the attack. I looked up at him.

"Whether I get my memory back or not… It's not going to change anything. I'm still going to be yours." I told him. He smiled down at me.

"I know." He whispered.

**A/N: Alright, here's the link to the dress Lissa gave Rose. I love it. It's gorgeous. **

.com/productgs/342775536/satin_halter_cocktail_dresses_short_


	15. Ego Inflation!

Two days passed and before I knew it, the ball was upon us. When I woke up that morning, all I kept thinking was 'oh hell'. I don't know why, but I had this super bad feeling about it all. I wasn't sure if I was losing it, or what. Dimitri laughed when I told him, and assured me that everything was going to be perfectly fine. Of course he would. I found Lissa in the ballroom, helping set up decorations. I wished I wouldn't have gone in there. She put me to work the moment I walked in the door.

"It's going to be amazing. I can't wait." She said, as she taped silver streamers above the door.

"It's going to be something." I assured her. She giggled.

"Did you show Dimitri the dress?"

"No. I figured I'd let it be a surprise, ya know?" I said. She grinned.

"He's going to love it. You look amazing in red."

"I look amazing in anything." I said, smirking. She rolled her eyes.

"But I bet you look better in nothing." I looked up to see Adrian walking in.

"You're probably right. Too bad you'll never know."

"I know, I know." He muttered, as he approached me. I laughed. Lissa put him to work, making him regret ever coming in.

"How'd you get my aunt to agree to this anyway?" He asked.

"I promised I'd take care of the whole thing. She agreed court needed something to spice the place up. I thought what better way-."

"Than a ball." I muttered, cutting her off. She giggled.

"Yeah. It's going to be great, just you wait." She said. I nodded. We worked in the ballroom for at least four hours, before Lissa said it was done. The place actually looked pretty amazing. We all split to start getting ready. When I walked into my room, Dimitri was already sitting on the couch, looking like the God that he was. He had on his dress pants and white button up shirt, but the shirt wasn't actually buttoned, revealing his absolutely gorgeous body. I smiled as I shut my door.

"Mmm, well hello."

"Hi." He said, grinning.

"You look perfect, just like that." I said. He chuckled, a light flush coming to his cheeks.

"Thank you." He said. I grinned.

"Is it bad that I sort of wanted to shoot my moroi today?" I asked.

"Very bad."

"Well… that sucks." I said. He chuckled.

"She had you decorating?"

"Fuck yes. I was ready to kill her. No joke." He laughed, of course.

"I bet it looks amazing."

"Of course. I helped." I said, walking over to sit in his lap. He wrapped his arms around me.

"I love you." He said.

"As I love you." I told him, leaning down to kiss him. I tried to pull away, but he grabbed my face, holding me close to him. I giggled when he finally released me.

"I need to start getting ready." I told him.

"I'm sure you do."

"You have to stay out here." I said.

"What? Why?" He asked, face falling slightly.

"Because I want it to be a surprise."

"Roza… that's hardly fair."

"Do it, or I'll kick you out." I snapped, giggling. He rolled his eyes.

"Whatever." He muttered, smiling. I got up, going into the bedroom, and pulling out my dress, laying it across the bad. I tackled my hair and make-up first. I did my make-up dark, so it was contrast with the color of my eyes and the color of my dress. I curled my hair, letting it fall in ringlets around my face, framing it. Once I was satisfied with it, I coated it with hairspray, and went into the bedroom to slip my dress on. Once I did that, I stood in my guilt framed mirror and smiled. Call me what you will, but I looked hot. Like, the kind of hot that gets people hit by traffic. I slid on my high heels and walked out into the main room. Dimitri was pulling on his jacket when he looked up. I got the exact reaction I was hoping for. I swear I heard his breathing, and his heart stop for a split second.

"My god." He whispered. I smirked.

"Thank you."

"You look…. There aren't words." He said. I giggled.

"You look pretty amazing yourself." I said, walking over to him, and straightening out his jacket.

"Thanks." He said. He touched my face, and smiled.

"I couldn't have asked for a better escort." I told him. He grinned.

"I'm glad you feel that way." I smirked. I walked over to the counter, and grabbed my strap. I pulled my dress up my legs, and put my strap on, sticking my stake in it. I pulled my dress back down and straightened myself back out. I looked at Dimitri to find him staring.

"It's not polite to stare."

"I'm sorry… it's just-." He paused for a moment. "That was incredibly sexy."

"Collect yourself kid. We have a ball to attend." I said.

"If I could get out of it, and keep you here. I would." He said, running a hand lightly down my arm. I shuddered.

"We should go… before we end up not being able to leave." I said. He leaned down and kissed me, but I quickly pulled away. He frowned.

"Lip gloss." I told him. He growled, and pulled my face back to his, kissing me. When I pushed him away, he chuckled. "Ass hole." I muttered. We left and headed down to the ballroom. I took Dimitri's hand as we entered. I noticed as we made our way through the crowd, all eyes were on us. When I reached Lissa, her eyes went wide.

"I was right. I know how to pick em'." She said, grinning. Christian chuckled.

"You clean up nice."

"You don't." I teased, eyeing him. He growled, which made me smile.

"I'm kidding. You look pretty hott yourself, fireboy." I said, tugging on his jacket.

"Why thank you." He said, rubbing his knuckles against it.

"You're inflating his ego. Stop it." Lissa told me. I smirked.

"Speaking of ego, where's Adrian?"

"You rang?" He said. I turned to the sound of Adrian's voice. He did a triple take, and I watched as his breathing picked up.

"Wow, little dhampir. You look amazing." I pirouetted for him.

"Thank you."

"You're inflating her ego." Christian said.

"Her ego couldn't get any bigger." Dimitri told him. I growled.

"Not nice." I said. They all chuckled. A slow song came on, and Dimitri turned to me.

"Ms. Hathaway, may I have this dance?" He asked, extending his hand. I giggled.

"Are you sure my ego's not too big." I asked, smirking. He rolled his eyes and snatched my hand. He whirled me out onto the dance floor. I smiled as he pulled me into his arms.

"Hmm… I didn't know you could dance."

"There's a lot you don't know about me." He said, winking.

"I know… and I absolutely hate it." I said.

"So do I, but we'll deal."

"Yes we will." I told him, smiling. "Who taught you how to dance?" He blushed a little.

"My mother, and my sisters. They used to force me when we were younger." I laughed.

"I bet that was quite adorable to watch."

"You would think so." He said, pulling me closer to him as we swayed under the dim light of the ball room. He spun me out, and pulled me back into his arms, dipping me and pressing a kiss to my throat before pulling me back into his arms. I giggled. The song ended and a new one started, but before we could reach Lissa and Christian, someone grabbed my hand.

"Dance with me?" I turned to find Adrian. I smiled, and looked back at Dimitri.

"Go ahead." He said. It was easy to see he wasn't too happy about it, but Adrian was my friend. I wasn't going to tell him no. I allowed him to pull me back out to the floor, and whirl me around.

"I know I said it already, but you look… amazing." He said. I smiled.

"Thanks. You look great too, although… you always do."

"Awe, your making me blush Hathaway." He said, giving me that signature Ivashkov smirk. I shook my head. "How have you been?" He asked.

"I'm doing good." I said, nodding.

"Memory coming back at all?"

"Nope. I've pretty much given up, ya know. If I was meant to have it… it would come back. I'm not worried about it anymore." I told him honestly.

"I think it will come back. Just give it time."

"I am." I told him. I caught Dimitri's gaze as Adrian spun me around and whirled me back into his arms. I swear I saw a hint of jealousy. As the song ended, I pulled away from him.

"Thank you for dancing with me, Ms. Hathaway."

"The pleasure is all yours." I said, giggling as I walked away.

"Your right." He said. As I started to make my way back to Dimitri, someone stepped in my path.

"Rose." He said. I sighed.

"Jesse." I muttered.

"Would you like to dance?" He asked, smiling.

"No thanks. I'm actually sort of tired."

"Come on, just one dance. I'll lead, and you won't even have to do any work." He said.

"Jesse, I said no."

"Don't be like that, Rose."

"I said-." I was cut off by Dimitri.

"Is there a problem here?" He asked, meeting my gaze. His voice full of authority. He was in guardian mode.

"No, no problem. You can take your cradle robbing self somewhere else."

"Excuse me? You want to try that again?" He asked, stepping between Jesse and me.

"Dimitri… don't. It's not worth it."

"You heard me the first time, Belikov. I don't like repeating myself." Jesse snapped. I grabbed Dimitri, pushing him back right before he would have swung.

"Stop it. He's a moroi, and he isn't worth the trouble…. Come on." I said, pushing him away. He was glaring at Jesse over my shoulder. I grabbed his face, pulling it to look at me. "Stop. He isn't worth it, and you know it. Let's go." I said. I pulled him outside into the cool night air.

"I hate that kid. I didn't like him before. After what he did to Lissa, and the things he did to you… but now. I hate him."

"Dimitri… listen to yourself. He's eighteen. You're twenty-four. He's not worth it."

"I know." He growled.

"Plus, I had it under control." I told him. He sighed.

"You always do."

"I was handling it. He's annoying and obnoxious, but Zeklos isn't anything I can't handle." I said. He nodded.

"I know. I'm sorry I got involved. I don't know what happened. I lost it." He said. I smiled.

"It's okay." I told him. "You know… if it hadn't been for me being scared you were going to kill him. You definitely look hot when you're mad." He growled.

"It's not funny, Roza."

"It's very funny." I said, kissing him. He rolled his eyes. We went back inside, keeping as much distance between the two of us and Jesse as possible. Another song came to a close and Dimitri and I stepped off the dance floor. As I walked over to the table to get a drink, my stomach sort of swirled. I figured it was from not eating all day, my stomach was telling me I was hungry. The closer I got to the table, the more prominent it became. I realized then that the table was right next to the door that led outside. My stomach swirled again, this time almost knocking the breath out of me. _Awe, fuck. _


	16. Don't you remember?

The moment I realized what was happening, I was searching for Dimitri. The moment he met my eyes, he started running towards me.

"What Roza? What's wrong?" He asked, looking as afraid as I felt and he didn't even know what was happening.

"There are strigoi."

"Where?" He asked.

"I… I think their outside. I can feel it." I said, touching my stomach. He nodded.

"We have to get everyone out." Then, I was hit like a battering ram.

"Lissa… Where's Lissa?" I was searching through the bond, running through groups of people to find her. When I finally found her, relief washed over me for a split second, before I went back into guardian mode.

"We have to get everyone out of here, NOW. There are strigoi."

"What? Where?" She asked, fear seizing her.

"I don't know, but I can feel them." I said, Dimitri was standing guard by the door, and he'd apparently shared the information with other guardians, because they were scrambling to guard exits.

"Do we go out?" I asked Dimitri.

"We either go out, or let them get in here. We have to find a way to get everyone out." He said. I nodded.

"I know." I was looking around. My stomach stirred again, it getting worse. I heard Lissa's voice over all the noise, as the music stopped.

"Listen up, everyone we have to get out of here immediately. There's been a breech in security, and there's possibly strigoi on the premises." That sent everyone into a panic. People scattered. Then, all hell broke loose. The doors burst open, and in came the strigoi.

"Shit." I muttered, as Dimitri and I backed away from the door, blocking the strigoi. There was about fifteen of them, which could easily be taken care of… at least it could have been if the other guardians weren't busy evacuating moroi out the other exits. Dimitri's stake was in his hand, ready for battle. I reached under my dress and pulled my stake. One of the strigoi sneered at me.

"Mmm, you're pretty." He lunged for me, but Dimitri took him out. A few more strigoi tried to jump on him, but I leaped into the group, protecting Dimitri's back. More guardians were coming, but strigoi were slipping through the holes in the guardians lines, heading for the moroi who still hadn't fully exited.

"Shit." I staked the strigoi I was fighting, and took off, running for the strigoi running after the moroi. That's when a scream completely broke through my resolve. I turned to find a strigoi with his fangs sank into Lissa's throat.

"NO." I cried, running as fast as I could. I tackled him off of her, hitting every inch of his body I could reach. I drug my stake across his skin, causing him to snarl. I took a few hits to the face, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. I pulled my stake over my head, and dug it into his chest, digging as far as it would go. I saw Christian scoop Lissa up into his arms.

"Rose." He called. I had to get them out.

"Come on." I said, running ahead of them. Christian followed, as I fought my way through the crowds of people. When I reached the exit, I pushed people out of my way, making a space for them to get through. They were almost out, when a strigoi from an unseen place lunged at them. I jumped, taking him to the ground. I caught most of the impact of our hit though. I didn't let it stop me though.

"Rose." I heard Christian say, worry in his voice.

"Go, Christian. Get somewhere safe." I yelled over the snarls of the strigoi. I caught a few nasty blows from this one to, but not before he caught a few of my own. I drug my stake across his throat, blood spilling all over his skin. My dress was soaked with theirs blood and mine. I staked him, and jumped up, running back towards Dimitri and the other guardians. A few of them had fallen, but Dimitri was still standing. He was bloody and battered, and I could see he was weakening. I grabbed one of the strigoi that had him, shoving them away.

"You messed with the wrong strigoi." He snarled.

"I doubt that." I snapped as he lunged at me. I uppercut him, causing him to stumble. I fought hard, taking this one out as well. I heard Dimitri's groan as a strigoi dragged their nails across his throat, slicing his skin. As his blood spilled two of them jumped on him, taking him to the ground. I'd never seen Dimitri fall in battle, ever.

"Dimitri… No." I cried, running to him. As I lunged at one of the strigoi, hoping it'd give him a chance to recover. The strigoi batted me like a fly, hitting me in the head, hard. My vision went dark for a second, before I shook my head hard. I pushed myself up off the floor, and ran back, taking the strigoi by surprise. I took him to the floor, fighting with his hands to stake him. The strigoi that had been on Dimitri, heard his friends struggle and came after me. That gave Dimitri enough time to get up, and recover, grabbing the strigoi by the throat, and jabbing his stake through his heart. The strigoi I was fighting pushed me off, and tried to go after Dimitri, but I grabbed his arms, holding him.

"Dimitri." I groaned. He walked over, staking the strigoi. The moment the fight drained from him, I dropped him. My head was throbbing from the hit's I'd taken, and every inch of me hurt.

"Rose?" I heard. I looked up to see Adrian in the doorway I'd led Christian and Lissa out of. I started to take a step, to go to him, to go to Lissa and make sure they were all okay, but the moment I stepped forward, I blacked out, crumbling towards the floor.

**DIMITRI'S POV**

The moment I saw he knee's lock, she stumbled forward. I caught her in my arms in the nick of time.

"Rose? Roza?" I asked, touching her face. There was no response.

"Rose!" Adrian exclaimed, running towards us. "God, what happened?"

"I don't know, but we need to get her to the infirmary." I scooped her up into my arms, carrying her out the door Adrian had come in. When we reached the infirmary, I busted through the door.

"I need help… now." I said. Nurses rushed over to her.

"What happened?"

"Strigoi fight. She took some pretty hard hits." I told her. She checked her vitals, listened to her heart, to make sure all of that was working fine. She bandaged up her cuts, and scrapes.

"She'll be fine. Her brain shut down because of the stress of the fight. She's just unconscious. She'll come too when she's ready. No worries." She said, patting Rose's arm. _No worries _my ass. The love of my life, just completely passed out. There were things to be worried about, especially considering that the last time she blanked out like this, she didn't remember me at all. What if it happened again? What if she woke up again and forgot all about me all over? Everything that had happened since she'd forgotten me the first time. Things wouldn't be as easy the second time around. If it happened again, I doubted she'd want to go through this all over. She'd wake up like she did the last time, punch me, freak out and never speak to me again. I sighed and laid my head against her chest, squeezing her hands in mine.

"Please… don't forget me again." I whispered. We sat there for awhile, before I got antsy and irritable. I wanted her to wake up. "Roza…come on. Wake up, please. I need you to wake up and look at me." I whispered.

"Anything?" I heard. I looked up to see Adrian.

"No. How's Lissa?"

"She's still pretty out of it. Endorphins and all." He told me. I nodded.

"But she's okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, she's okay."

"Good." I said. He nodded.

"Is she going to be okay?"

"Yeah. She's just sleeping, from what the nurse said. She'll wake up when she's ready." I told him.

"If she-."

"Forgets again?" I asked. He nodded.

"Will you try again? Will you go through all the hell you went through to get her back to where she is now?"

"In a heartbeat. I'd go through it a thousand times over for her, Adrian." I said, staring into her sleeping face.

"You really love her." He said. I turned to him. "I mean… I've always known that. I've always been jealous... but I see now that nothing is going to come between what you two have. Not even her wiped memory."

"I love her, Adrian."

"I know." He said. He looked down. "Tell her I stopped by when she wakes up, would ya?" I nodded once.

"I will." I said, as he turned and walked away. She slept for what seemed like ever.

"Roza… please wake up." I whispered, squeezing her hand. I laid my head against her arm, and sighed.

"If you keep squeezing my hand, you're going to break my fingers, Comrade." I heard. I looked up to see her open one eye to look at me.

"Roza?" I whispered. I stood up, pulling her into my arms. "I'm so glad you okay."

"How long was I out?"

"Atleast three hours." I told her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." She said, touching my face. I smiled down at her. It was then something hit me like a battering ram. I met her gaze, seriously.

"What did you call me?"

"What?" She asked.

"What'd you call me when you woke up?" I repeated quickly.

"I called you Comrade. That's what I've always called you. You know that." She said. The biggest smile spread across her face. I felt my heart stop, and pick up into overdrive.

"You… You remember."

"I remember everything." I whispered. I felt like I might cry.

"How? I don't understand." I said.

"I don't know. I guess getting knocked around a little bit more brought my memories back." She said.

"God… you remember? You remember everything? Even after the fight?" I asked. She nodded.

"Yes. I remember. I remember you fighting for me. I remember you making me fall in love with you all over again, just for the sake of not having to lose me. I remember it all, Dimitri." She told me. "And thank you… thank you so much. Thank you for not giving up on me."

"I wouldn't dream of it." I whispered, leaning down and pressing a kiss to her lips. She smiled, and ran her hands through my hair.

"I love you, Comrade."

"You don't know how much I miss hearing you call me that." I admitted, even though I told her I hated the nickname back at the academy.

"Well, get used to it."

"I love you to Roza." I murmured. I pulled her into my arms, happy to have my Roza back and safe. I was so glad she'd gotten her memory back. There weren't words to describe how elated I was, but then again… a love like ours can never fully be forgotten.

**A/N: The end. I hope you guys enjoyed. This was definitely one of my shorter stories, but I had a lot of fun writing it. Don't forget to review. When I disappeared for a few weeks, you guys started slacking on my reviews. I don't appreciate it. Lol. Kidding. Thank you guys for everything. Next, I think I'm going to try and tackle an Adrian story. I feel so bad for the poor kid, and I love his character, so look out for an Adrian Ivashkov story soon. **


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